Second Existence
by Evil Amplified
Summary: It is time for our favorite neurotic Witchlighter to go back to his changed future, but will another visitor from the future change all of their plans and prove that change isn't always a good thing? Post season 6 with Chris still alive.
1. Moment of Sacrifice

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** I know that I am not the only person who was very disappointed to see Chris leave the show at the end of Season 6, so seeing that I have written this little fic changing the last episode of that season and continuing on in my own AR of the show with one heck of a twist on the whole changed future aspect. I hope everyone enjoys it. This is the first story in a series of stories I am planning. Rated T for some violence and possibly language.

**Summary:** It is time for our favorite neurotic Witchlighter to go back to his changed future, but will another visitor from the future change all of their plans and prove that change isn't always a good thing?

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**Chapter 1 Moment of Sacrifice**

"Just hold on, Chris. I promise I'll find a way to save you." Leo's voice broke as he said the words. This just couldn't be happening. The thought of losing either of his sons was too much for a father's heart to bear. They had all feared losing Wyatt for months now, but none of them had even contemplated the idea of losing Chris too.

"Find Gideon, Dad. If you find him you save both of us." Chris' words came as barely above a whisper. Leo could see the pain radiating from his son's eyes and the sight instilled both a deep agony in his heart but also a burning need to destroy the one who had done this.

"I'll find him and bring him back here. He can reverse this." Leo nodded to himself forming a plan in his mind.

"No, Dad. You have to finish this once and for all, for Wyatt's sake," Chris gasped reaching for his father's hand, knowing it would probably be the last time he ever did so.

"Chris, no! I can't choose between you and Wyatt. I can't let you die to save him." Leo was shocked by his son's suggestion. Fathers shouldn't have to choose between their sons. It just wasn't possible to do.

"Dad, if you save Wyatt then there won't be any reason for me to come back here, so I won't die. The real me, the one that counts, the one that is your future is about to be born. Save his future, Dad, and you'll have done all you can do to save me." The words had cost him dearly but he believed them true with every fiber of his being. He had always known that he might not survive this whole ordeal. He had fought for his life several times since coming to the past. But the one thing that had drove him to do so was his need to save Wyatt and change their future. Now he could see that goal in sight, even if he might not be there to see it come to pass. Always before he had thought that he would be the only one with the strength and determination to see this through to the end. But now looking at his father he could see that same strength there and knew that he wouldn't ever let either of them down again. Wyatt would be saved and Chris' present self would grow up in a better world. A world full of the love of both his parents. And it was enough for him to know that. Enough to make up for all of the pain and disappointment of the past. Tears had started forming in his eyes as he thought of these things. "Please, Dad, go," he pleaded.

Leo had heard his words and knew that they made perfect sense but still his heart was breaking at the thought of losing the son before him. Once all of the lies and deception had cleared away he had been left with a clear picture of the Chris before him. He saw a young man who had lived a life of pain and betrayal. But that very same young man had resisted the evil of his world and still managed to come out of it all with one of the purest, most sacrificing souls he had ever seen. His son had grown into a very good man, despite all of the challenges that he faced. And it was the hardest thing he could ever imagine doing as he stood and leaned over his son placing a gentle kiss upon his brow. "I love you, Chris," he whispered squeezing his hand tightly and then letting go as the blue and white orbs enveloped his body taking him away from his son's side.

Chris had heard his father's words and for once in his life he truly believed them. Even though the father from his future life had never had the time for him, he had always told him that he loved him, but Chris had never believed it before now. Here in this time and place the man that was his father loved him with all of his heart and those three little words had done more to heal his damaged heart than anything in his life could have. It was enough.

He could feel his Aunt Paige kneel beside his bed and take his hand. He was comforted by the fact that he would not have to die alone at least. He could hear her soft sobs but did not have the strength to try to form the words to comfort her. He glanced at her once trying desperately to form that cocky smile of his that always made her laugh.

Paige could see the effort he was putting into trying to ease her own pain. "Chris, just hold on, okay. Maybe once Leo has vanquished Gideon, just maybe he'll be able to heal you. You can't give up hope. We need you."

Chris did manage that smile then but it faded from his face as his eyes closed and his head drifted to the side.

"No, Chris! You have to hold on. Please hold on," she cried reaching out placing one hand on his chest to feel if he still breathed. She could feel just the slightest movement as he still breathed in ever so slowly. She looked up to the heavens and called out in an anguished voice, "Hurry up, Leo!"

Then a loud crash sounded in the attic causing her to jump slightly. She looked back to Chris in worry. She didn't want to leave him but there was no telling what threat might be trying to invade the manor now. So with a reluctant heart she lifted her hand from his chest and orbed up to the attic. She was on her guard immediately. But the sight that greeted her was strange to say the least.

Sprawled on the attic floor in the midst of several boxes was a young blonde man who looked to be about Chris' age. She immediately went on the offensive and lifted her hands to ward off any attack.

"Jeez, Aunt Paige, I know none of you expected to see anyone else from the future, but did you have to pile all these boxes here?" the young man questioned trying to pull himself out of the debris.

"Aunt Paige…." A look of confusion crossed her face and then sudden recognition. "Wyatt?"

Once he was standing he crossed over towards her with his arms held out to the sides in a non-threatening manner.

"Hold on, Mister," Paige said sharply. "Aren't you evil?"

Wyatt smiled a small grin. "You know you all told me about that but I still can't quite wrap my mind around it."

She looked at him skeptically. He didn't look evil. Or at least not how she would expect him to look. He wore faded blue jeans and a red t-shirt. His blonde hair was cut short and he still held that slightest look of youth that some men of his age found it so hard to lose and in his eyes he still held a small twinge of innocence. "But Leo hasn't saved you yet," she questioned frowning in confusion. Had he?

"Aunt Paige, the moment that changed my future wasn't when Dad saved me. It was when Gideon stabbed Chris. That one horrific act is enough to give Dad the strength and will to kill Gideon and save me. It's already written in stone and the future has already changed," Wyatt explained.

Paige's mouth dropped open in astonishment. Then as the wheels turned in her head the look upon her face turned to one of anger. "So let me get this straight," she started in walking even closer to Wyatt. He backed up slightly after seeing the anger brewing in her eyes. "You are saying that the only way for the future to be saved is for Chris to die!" She had started tapping his chest with her index finger, the force of it becoming ever stronger with each word. "Because if that's what you are saying I'm not so sure the end gain is worth the price we have to pay, the price your brother has to pay."

"No, no. I'm not saying that at all," Wyatt assured her. "I'm here to try to stop that part, actually," he explained hoping she would believe him. "Please, just tell me where Chris is. I'll try to save him."

Her eyes squinted angrily. She wasn't anywhere near sure that this was not a trap. But the honest look of worry on his face finally made her decision for her. "Your parent's room."

They both orbed to the room and Wyatt immediately sat on the bed next to his brother. He could see that Chris was becoming extremely pale from the blood loss and wasn't quite sure just how much time he had left. He sent out a small prayer that they weren't too late. "Help me, Aunt Paige." He turned to her his eyes beseeching her, begging her to help. She could see that his eyes had taken on a watery look as he fought to hold back tears.

"What can I do?" The tears had started to slide down her own cheeks again as she stared at the limp form of her nephew.

"I know you've had some problems the few times you've attempted healing, but maybe if we try together we can keep him alive until Dad breaks the curse and brings back little me," he suggested laying one hand over the athame wound in his brother's stomach. "I can't counteract the curse that Gideon put on that athame, but we just might be able to keep him alive until it's broken."

Paige nodded nervously. She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to heal properly but for Chris' sake she'd try. She moved to the other side of the bed and placed her hands next to where Wyatt's had started to glow. At first there was nothing.

"Just concentrate, Aunt Paige. You want more than anything to keep Chris alive. Pull the feeling of the love you have for him from your heart and into your mind. Let it consume you. Don't let any other thoughts enter your mind." With his words he noticed as Paige's hands began to glow also. "That's right," he encouraged.

They could feel it when the tide turned and Chris started to truly heal. "What happened?" Paige asked in confusion. The healing hadn't seemed to be doing any good until that moment.

"Gideon must be dead. The curse he placed on the athame is broken," Wyatt explained grinning at his Aunt. They weren't gonna lose him.

They heard the tinkling sound of orbs behind them but neither turned to see the shocked look on Leo's face.

"Who are you?" he growled at the back of the man sitting next to his son.

Wyatt turned slightly so his father could see the profile of his face. "Dad, if you aren't gonna help you could at least keep quiet while we save Chris," he said with a cocky smile on his face.

Leo began to sway on his feet and moved forward setting the younger version of his son down on the foot of the bed and then collapsed there himself. He had recently seen the grown up, evil version of his son but this was definitely not that version.

A small voice broke the silent concentration in the room. "Cwiss?"

Older Wyatt looked at his counterpart. "Hey little guy, you want to help save Chris?"

Leo watched in fascination as little Wyatt also added his healing powers to the task. With the addition of the third set of hands Chris' whole body seemed to light up from within and in barely seconds a loud breath sounded and Chris' eyes flew open as he sat bolt upright gripping his stomach where he had just been healed.

For a moment he seemed disoriented as the memories of the days events came crashing in on him. Then he looked at everyone surrounding him. Once his eyes fell on the older version of his brother tears began to stream down his face. "It's over isn't it? It worked."

"Thanks to you, little brother, yes it did." Wyatt nodded solemnly.

A large grin broke over his face as young Wyatt climbed into his lap. "Cwiss, better?" the childish voice asked.

"Yes, Wyatt, everything is all better now," he answered hugging his smaller older brother tightly.

"Well, not exactly," Paige said looking over to Leo.

"Piper," came his worried reply.

"Mom… what's wrong?" Chris asked hearing the worry in his father's voice.

"She was going into surgery when we left the hospital," Paige explained. "There are complications."

"We better get going," Leo said standing and holding his arms out to take little Wyatt.

"I can't," Chris said as a frightened look crossed his face. "I was supposed to be gone before mini-me was born."

At that statement older Wyatt laughed. "Chris, do you not see both versions of me sitting here together? Nothing catastrophic is happening to us. So don't worry so much," Wyatt said shaking his head in mirth. "Thanks to the spell that brought both of us back here we even get to keep our powers."

"Wait, you know how this all turns out. Mom…" Chris swallowed hard. This was one thing about his birth that he had never knew. None of the adults in his life had ever mentioned complications surrounding his birth. He could only guess that they had some how been brought on by the changes he had made in this time line.

"Let's just get to the hospital and you can all see for yourself," Wyatt suggested.

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_A/N: Okay, love it, hate it? Want to see more of it? Let me know._


	2. From the Light Into the Darkness

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

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**Chapter 2 From the Light Into the Darkness**

As Chris stood staring at the small bundle wrapped in Leo's arms a tiny smile touched his lips. He looked at the people surrounding him and felt a sense of joy invade his very soul. His Aunt Paige had said something that stuck the truest cord in his mind.

"It looks like we didn't lose him after all. Either of you for that matter." Chris would never forget the fact that Paige had overcome her hesitancy about healing to help save him. It was true that both in his past and in their present he and Paige had always butted heads over almost everything but none of that mattered. The fact that she was able to use her healing ability to save him was the only proof he would ever need to show how much she truly cared for him.

And then there was Phoebe. She was wrapped up in staring at her new baby nephew. Chris knew that she would dote on the infant just as she had when he was the one who was the child. That's just how Aunt Phoebe was, and the only way he'd ever want her to be. Even if she did manage to embarrass him on several occasions with her smothering.

And his dad. His dad was standing there staring at his newest son in pure amazement. He glanced up at the older version of Chris and the brightest smile he could ever imagine encompassed his father's face and it wasn't easy to miss the tears of joy that shone in his eyes. Why had he ever thought that his father didn't love him? In this moment in time it was obvious just how much the Elder truly cared. Chris wasn't at all sure what had caused his father to treat him the way he had in his original timeline but he was sure without a doubt that it wouldn't happen this time around. Leo would make time for him and he would never neglect him.

When the doctor said that only one of them could go in and see his mom he was a little disappointed but he was glad that his father had went. It was time that his family truly started to become a family again. He still felt a twinge of guilt over the fact that he had split his parents marriage up. But hadn't he done everything he could to rectify that situation. He hoped it would be enough.

He turned to his older brother, who was holding the younger version of himself. He could see the smile that lingered on his brother's face but he could also see a look of melancholy that Chris thought was out of place during such a joyous occasion. This made Chris wonder if maybe something in their future wasn't quite as great as he had started imagining it to be. "Something wrong, big brother?"

Wyatt was jogged out of his thoughts by Chris' question. The expression on his face immediately changed to the one that Chris knew from growing up around his older brother. For a long time there, before The Event that triggered the release of Wyatt's evil side, he had been a great older brother. And that was the version he was seeing now and it was the best thing he could ever imagine. "Everything's fine. Don't worry so much, Chris," Wyatt answered giving his brother a smile that only Chris noticed did not reach his eyes.

A snort of derision came from Paige at that statement. "I don't know what the version of Chris you grew up with was like but telling this one not to worry is like telling the river not to run."

Chris had to chuckle at that statement. His often neurotic zeal to save his brother had certainly colored his Aunt's perspective of himself. "Well starting right now that is gonna change. It's high time I enjoy a little worry free time."

"Okay, who are you and where is our nephew?" Phoebe asked in jest.

"No, I'm serious. No more worrying about the future. No more long nights with no sleep. No more brooding over the next threat. And for the time being, no more demon hunts." His words were spoken as if they were a vow. One he fully intended to keep.

Wyatt's smile strained a little at those words. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all that he would soon be forced to take away what his brother most wanted in the world. Chris deserved better than this after all he'd gone through to save him. But he couldn't put it off forever.

"Okay, we'll believe that one when we see it, Kiddo," Paige said just nodding knowingly. Phoebe nodded in agreement.

Chris just rolled his eyes and turned back to his brother. Wow, his brother. He was still having a hard time reconciling the fact that his brother was no longer that dark creature that had tried to kill him not too long ago. No this Wyatt was everything he had hoped he'd be and he had traveled back in time to heal him. Sure, if this version of himself had died from that athame wound the younger version of him would have lived on, but still it wouldn't be the same. He wanted to see what his future had changed into, first hand. To see the good he had done. "Hey, thanks!" he said slightly timid.

"For what?" Wyatt asked in surprise.

"For coming back for me," Chris answered.

"All I did was heal your wound, Chris. Look at what you did to save me from becoming evil. I'd say maybe I owe you a little bit more than that." Chris wasn't used to his brother being so serious. When they were younger he had always been the jokester. The one playing pranks and Chris had been the one to sit back and worry about whether or not his brother would be caught. So maybe he had already been slightly neurotic before he came back in time. But still this new version of his brother was surprising to say the least.

"Listen, I came back here to save the future for all of us, including me. So don't be thinking I'm all noble or something." He tried to deflect the praise his brother was giving him. He had always been uncomfortable with people praising him growing up and that was one thing he hadn't grown out of yet and probably never would. He had done what needed to be done to save Wyatt and had never thought about what it might cost him. That just wasn't in his nature.

Wyatt just nodded. "Listen, I'm sort of tired. I'm gonna go back to the Manor and rest some. Tell mom I love her and I'll see her soon." With those words Wyatt handed the younger version of his self to Phoebe and turned walking away.

The other three people surrounding him were surprised to hear that. They had all assumed that Wyatt would be biting at the chomp to see his mother after everything that had happened.

"Chris, are you sure that that version of Wyatt is different from the one you knew before?" Paige asked worriedly staring after her nephew.

"Yeah, no doubt about it. He's not evil at all," he rushed to assure them. "But there is something distinctly different about him." Chris had a far away look on his face. This wasn't what he'd expected Wyatt to be like at all.

"What's so different?" Phoebe asked not having the foresight that Chris did into his brother's psyche.

"Well all along Wyatt had a nasty streak in him, leftover from whatever Gideon had done to him but when we were kids I didn't see much of that side of him. He knew how to have fun and make himself happy. He enjoyed life a lot and was very rarely sad until after … The Event," Chris started to explain but paused, still trying to hide parts of his future.

"Chris, we've already talked to Piper about this and we are pretty sure that The Event you keep mentioning was Piper's death, and possibly both of us along with her. You don't have to talk in code. We are all hoping that the changes you've helped make are enough to change that too." Phoebe knew that Chris still dwelled on the possibility of going back to a future where his mom was not alive and she didn't want the worry over it to tear him up inside especially not on the day of his birth.

Chris just nodded, feeling slightly relieved that the Aunts weren't completely in the dark and could offer their support to him on this subject. "After The Event is when Wyatt started to exhibit his evil side. Instead of being sad and mournful he became angry and belligerent towards Grandpa, Dad and I, and then eventually he just left. It wasn't until he returned for Excalibur on his 18th birthday that we truly understood what he was becoming." Chris paused lost in his thoughts of the past. A past that he had to remind himself never came about. He knew he'd probably have to remind himself of that one several times over the next few days. "But now with things changed Wyatt seems sad but only slightly distant, compared to what I knew before, that is. It makes me wonder if…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

"So you are worried that The Event still happened and this is what it has done to him," Phoebe said understanding where Chris' mind was going.

"I hate to admit it but I'm afraid so," Chris said sighing deeply. He like his Aunts had been hoping against all hopes that they would have the opportunity to live happy lives now that his brother wasn't destined to be evil anymore. "But I'm not gonna know for sure unless I can get him to talk to me, or if I go back and see for myself."

"And if the worst is true?" Phoebe asked hugging tightly to her young nephew who seemed to be soaking up everything they were saying.

"I don't know," he whispered, knowing his voice would break if he tried to speak any louder. "After all these months of being with you all again, I'm not sure if I can go back to living a life without you. Without Mom."

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"This isn't fair, damnit!" Wyatt shouted as he slammed the cover of the Book of Shadows closed. He wasn't sure what had made him look through the book. He knew there wouldn't be anything in there that he hadn't seen before. No clues as to what he was looking for. But still it had been his first thought upon entering the Manor again.

"What am I gonna do?" he spoke dejectedly as he made his way to the old beat up sofa that stood by the window and slumped into its soft comfort. He had a task to complete but he had no idea how to go about doing it. He had initially wanted to seek out the help of his family from this time and especially from Chris. Chris had done the miraculous when he managed to save Wyatt from turning evil. So wouldn't he be the best bet to solve their current future problem? But now that he had seen them all so happy and heard his brother's wishes to have some peace and quiet it seemed so unfair to drag them into it.

"Why did I ever think that this would be easier on me than the others I left behind?" It wasn't easy. Nothing about it was.

After several long moments of agonizing thought he finally came to a very hard decision. "I have to tell them. I have to stick with the plan. But not until mom is home from the hospital. They are all gonna need each other on this one. And at least Chris can have a couple of days of happiness before I tear his world apart."

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_A/N: Okay well that's the second chapter. Not very long I know but I wanted to leave it off there. Anyone want to guess what Wyatt is so worried about? Anyhow, let me know what you think so far._


	3. Shocking Revelations

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

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**Chapter 3 Shocking Revelations**

"He's avoiding me," Chris complained angrily as he stalked into the attic. Both his aunts were there. Paige was scrying for her newest charge, who was avoiding her at all costs and Phoebe was on her laptop trying to finish her latest column. "I've been trying for two days now to pin him down on the changes to the future and every time I bring it up he just tells me not to worry and then makes a beeline for the door with some excuse to get out of here."

Both aunts looked up at his words and both shared the same perplexed look. "Well maybe he's just waiting for you two to go back so you can be surprised by all the good you've done," Paige suggested.

Phoebe had a skeptical look on her face at that comment but she smiled at Chris hoping to allay his fears.

Chris crossed over to the couch and flopped unceremoniously down with a huge frown covering his face. "Yeah, I'd like to believe that one too, but considering the fact that he bails every time I mention us going back also, it just doesn't seem all that likely."

"What reason is he giving for you guys hanging around here anyway?" Phoebe asked realizing too late just how it had sounded. "Sorry, I'm not saying I want you to leave or anything, it's just…."

"That's fine, Pheebs. I understand," Chris quickly assured her. "He says that he wants to make sure that mom makes it home okay and settles in fine."

"But since he's from the future he should know whether or not your mom does okay coming home." The look on Paige's face could only be described as suspicious.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," Chris agreed.

"Well your mom should be home anytime now, so I guess we should be able to find out more then, and besides your mom is better at getting information out of people than anyone I know," Phoebe suggested.

"I don't know if we should worry the parents about this." Chris was worried that his fears would be too much for his mom to handle so soon after having surgery.

"Worry us about what?" a sharp voice came from the doorway to the attic.

Chris had been relaxing on the couch with his head laying back so he hadn't seen his parents enter but his mom's commanding voice immediately brought his head up. He looked to his aunts for support but both of them had that 'melt into the table look' about them. He rolled his eyes at them and then faced his parents again. "Um, don't worry about it. It's nothing." He knew he sounded like his brother and it was just as infuriating coming from his own lips than from Wyatt's.

Leo had remained quiet until that point but the evasive look in his son's eyes gave him a bad feeling. "Chris, haven't we discussed this? If you have a problem, come to us? That's what we are here for."

Chris enjoyed the sentiment that his father was offering. It felt good to be able to count on him but still… what if this was all in his head? Was he jumping to conclusions?

Phoebe finally had to say something. She could feel Chris' hesitancy to rely on his parents and she knew it wasn't right. "We are just worried about Wyatt."

Both parent's eyes flew to the playpen where little Wyatt was playing quietly. Nothing looked amiss. Phoebe saw the reaction and corrected herself. "The other Wyatt."

"Why?" Leo's brow crinkled in worry. Had something gone wrong? Were they wrong about how successful they were at keeping him from evil?

"Don't freak out now, Dad!" Chris said quickly seeing the panic in his father's eyes. "It's just that he seems off. Distant, sort of sad even. I'm just worried about the future I'm going back to and whether or not it's what I'm hoping it will be."

"Haven't you two talked about it yet?" Piper asked taking a seat next to Phoebe. She was holding baby Chris, who thankfully was sleeping soundly. She had assumed that while she was in the hospital the two future versions of her sons would have spent that time getting to know one another again.

"I wish we had. I've been trying to get him to talk but he won't say a word," Chris admitted.

Leo took a seat next to Chris on the couch and sat for a moment in thought. "Maybe he just doesn't want to say anything yet because he's worried one of us might hear too much. Future consequences and all."

"That still wouldn't explain his demeanor though," Phoebe offered. Just at that moment blue and white orbs formed in the attic before them and the person they were discussing appeared before their eyes.

"Darn, I wanted to make it back before you got here, Mom," he said smiling warmly and stepped over giving her a kiss and a hug. "How you feeling?"

Piper returned the affection from her oldest son and looked at him quizzically. "I'm doing fine," she drew her words out implying a question to them as if to say 'how are you doing?'

Wyatt glanced around the room and could see the questioning looks on all of their faces. "Is something wrong?" he asked backing up slightly.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell us?" Piper suggested with a look that warned him not to dare trying to put her off.

Wyatt backed even further away and his face held a defensive look that none of them liked. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Leo decided to take over the interrogation at that point. "It seems your brother and aunts are worried about you, Wyatt. Is there something they need to be worried about?"

Wyatt glanced at his aunts and then at Chris who had a very intense look on his face, which Wyatt had to admit, disturbed him slightly. He closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped slightly as he found a chair nearer to the door and sat down dejectedly. "I thought I was better at hiding my emotions than that." It was time. He knew it was. He had been putting it off too long already.

"What are you hiding from us, Wyatt?" Leo asked in concern. "Whatever it is you can tell us. We will do anything it takes to help you. You know that don't you?"

"Yeah, Dad. You have always been there when I needed you." Even though he knew he had to tell them he still hated the idea and he held back stalling. "First of all, this isn't fair to you, any of you, and I didn't want to do this to you."

Chris' fears came to full bloom with his brother's words and he couldn't keep silent anymore. "It's The Event, isn't it? I didn't change it. It still happened, didn't it?"

Piper looked to her youngest son and a moment of panic hit her but she also felt the urge to stop all of this nonsense and bring it out in the open. "Quit calling it that, Chris. Just say it. The day that I die."

Leo blanched snow white. He hadn't been on earth when Chris had let that information slip and he hadn't heard anything about it yet. "What do you mean, when you died?"

"Ask your sons. I'm still in the dark on the details," Piper suggested a slight bit miffed.

Chris looked to Wyatt but saw that he wasn't gonna offer any details for them so reluctantly he revealed the worst event of his life. "In my future, my unchanged future, mom and the aunts died on my fourteenth birthday. It was the final straw that sent Wyatt over the deep end," he said quietly looking down at his hands. It was still way to painful for him to dwell on for long and having to say the words was just too much for him to handle. Silent tears began to form in his eyes and he just couldn't look up at his mother. He had almost been positive that changing Wyatt's future would somehow change what had happened to his mom too.

Leo looked to his wife and tears also began to spring to his eyes. Fourteen years. Was that all they'd have left together? It seemed like so little time. And that would leave his boys without a mother during some of the most crucial years of their lives. But he had to turn his attentions back to his son, who he could tell was not dealing well with this revelation he had been forced to tell. "Chris, we can still change this. I promise you we will," he tried to reassure him resting one hand on his shoulder offering support. Then he turned to Wyatt. "That's why you came back here, isn't it, Wyatt? You came back to warn us."

Wyatt looked at his father and mother and shook his head the look on his face very sad but in a way perplexed also.

Chris had seen that shake of his head and couldn't believe it. Did his brother not want to save their mother's life? "You can't be serious right? You don't want to change it!" he said bitterly the tears truly coursing down his face now.

"I can't change what didn't happen, Chris," Wyatt said shaking his head again. "My lord they never told me that one. They said in your former past that I had been evil, but none of them ever mentioned mom dying. No, Chris! Mom is very much alive in our future now," Wyatt said hastily. "And so are Aunt Phoebe and Paige."

A collective sigh of relief flitted through the room.

"I'm sorry, Chris. If I had known that that was what you were worrying about for the last couple of days, I would have told you immediately." Wyatt really wished that his family had remembered to tell him that one before he came back to the past. He hadn't wanted to make this more painful for his brother than it had to be.

Chris looked at his brother and just took a deep breath trying to calm himself. Then he looked at his mother and a large smile spread across his face. She lived. Once he went back she would be there waiting for him. He didn't have to face a future without her.

"But you are still hiding something, aren't you?" Phoebe asked. She was glad to hear that her and her sisters had survived but still she could feel the worry and sorrow coming off her oldest nephew with her empathic power.

Wyatt looked down not meeting any of their eyes. He just couldn't do it. He couldn't say the words. "I'm sorry. It's just so hard to say."

Chris finally decided it was time for action. No more sitting here waiting for his brother to fess up. He stood and walked purposefully towards the other end of the room passing by his brother. He grabbed a piece of chalk from the desk as he went and stopped at the blank wall on the far side of the room. He held the chalk in place on one of the higher boards and started to draw the Triquetra.

Wyatt turned to watch his brother. "What are you doing, Chris?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going home. If you won't tell me what's got you so spooked about our future I'll find out for myself. Dad, you got any of that time travel potion left? I don't think he's gonna help me get there," Chris asked resolutely as he continued to draw the symbol of power that he needed to open a portal into his time.

"I still don't want you going back alone, Chris," Leo answered looking strangely at his oldest son, who was just sitting his eyes transfixed on what his brother was doing.

"Stop, Chris. I can't let you do this." Wyatt finally spoke up his voice trembling slightly.

Chris turned angrily toward his brother. "What?"

"You can't go back there, Chris. Not until I find a way to change things," Wyatt answered in a defeated tone.

"Why, Wyatt? What are you afraid of me seeing?" Chris' voice had rose angrily and it wasn't hard to see his brother flinch at the sharp tone.

Phoebe gasped as her empathy powers picked up the feelings pouring from her oldest nephew. "He's not afraid of what you'll see, Chris. He's afraid of you!"

Wyatt looked to his aunt and scowled. "Thanks, Aunt Pheebs. Not exactly what I wanted to be known right now."

Piper looked from one son to the other and confusion lit her face. "Why would you be afraid of Chris, Wyatt? He came back here to save you. He's a hero." She could see her youngest son blush at those words but in her eyes he would always be a hero after what he had done for his brother.

Wyatt couldn't look at her as the words came out of his mouth. "This Chris may be a hero, Mom. He may have kept me from turning evil in our future, but that version you are holding in your arms is a whole other story. You see in our future I'm not the one who turns evil, Chris is."

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_A/N: I know, I know, evil Cliffhanger there. But I just had to do it. One of my reviewers guessed the secret. So cdfe88 wins the prize for being the most insightful, and once I figure out what the prize is, I'll let you know._


	4. The Pain of a Brother

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Alrighty then. I had mixed responses to Chris turning evil but I guess that was to be expected. Chris is supposed to be the hero isn't he. Well don't worry, he still is. Anyhow Chris may seem a little emo in this chapter but it's just because he's having to process alot really quick. Don't worry that wonderful strong, cocky Witchlighter will be back in next chapter. Now on to the chapter.

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**Chapter 4 - The Pain of a Brother**

The only sound heard throughout the attic was chalk clattering to the floor. Wyatt looked up to his family seeing the shock he had caused in them all, then he turned around to look at his brother who was standing numbly next to the wall one hand holding him there as if the connection was the only thing keeping him standing. "I'm sorry," Wyatt whispered praying that his brother wouldn't hate him for bringing such horrible news.

Chris' head started to move back and forth in denial as he swallowed hard past the lump that was forming in his throat. He tried several times to force words past his lips until they finally took form. "That can't be. Look at me. I'm not evil."

Wyatt stood and took a few steps towards his brother. "I know you aren't now, but that's just because little Chris hasn't been turned yet in this time period," Wyatt tried to explain. "If you step through that portal though… You'll merge with the older version of yourself that I left back there and I can't say if you'll be overtaken by the evil or not. You can't go back there."

A strangled sob was heard from Piper as she clutched her baby tighter. She didn't want to believe Wyatt. They had already gone through this once. It wasn't fair. She didn't know if she could handle the worry over losing another child to the evil again. Especially not the precious baby she held sleeping in her arms. Leo immediately stood and went to Piper wrapping his arms around her trying to shush her sudden tears.

Phoebe and Paige were both rooted to their spots staring at the two brothers on the other end of the room. Neither knew what to say to help the situation.

Chris' eyes scanned his older brother and deep in his heart he knew he saw no deception there. His body suddenly slid down the wall to the ground and he wrapped his arms around his legs his face falling to his knees. "What have I done?" came the muffled words full of pain.

All three sisters stood and Leo moved forward ready to comfort Chris, knowing how much pain those words held but Wyatt motioned them back as he stepped forward and sat on the floor next to his younger brother. They weren't touching but Chris could feel his presence there. "You didn't do anything wrong, Chris. You being here just somehow managed to bring your existence to someone's attention. Whoever it was that got to you saw an opportunity to control a very powerful Witchlighter. And considering the fact that your younger version hasn't developed any powers yet it makes him a much easier target than I was."

"Wait, are you saying that whatever happens to Chris happens soon?" Leo asked panic again gripping him.

Wyatt nodded sadly. "In about six months from now."

"And let me guess, we don't know who does it?" Paige asked bitterly. Of course that would be too much to ask.

"No, whoever the demon was he was a shape-shifter and very powerful at cloaking himself." Wyatt knew he didn't have much for them to go on but he'd give them as much information as he could, future consequences be damned.

"Do we at least know how it was done?" Phoebe asked wondering if maybe they could find a way to counteract the damage.

"No, Chris was taken and it was never determined how he was turned." Wyatt looked at Chris who had raised his head but still had said nothing else. Wyatt wondered if just maybe he was in shock.

After several long seconds he managed one word. "Taken?" It was the only thing he had been able to garner from Wyatt's statement.

Wyatt again froze on his words. Yet again another blow to hurt his brother. Chris looked at Wyatt and could see the hesitancy. "Wyatt, you said I was taken. Where and how long?" Chris was desperate to understand what had happened to him and that one word 'taken' seemed so sinister to his ears.

It was Wyatt's turn to look at his own knees. "We never learned where."

Piper had been keeping quiet but this shocked her into speech. "But we got him back, right? How did we find him?" It was impossible to keep the tremor of fear from her voice.

Wyatt looked towards his brother, knowing his words would be an even harder blow. "No, we didn't. We never found him."

At that moment little Chris woke with a loud cry, probably because his mother had him in a death grip. Piper immediately turned and walked to the other side of the room shushing her child as she cried the whole time. The words 'I lost my baby. I lost my precious little angel,' running over and over in her mind.

Chris stared at his mother, whom he could see wasn't very far from a mental breakdown. Leo, Paige and Phoebe had all moved close to the wall kneeling next to where Chris and Wyatt sat facing them trying to offer as much comfort ans support to Chris as possible. Chris had a thought then that he tried to push to the back of his mind but he couldn't help it from tumbling out when he opened his mouth. "Did they look for me?"

"Chris, of course we would," Leo said sharply wondering if his son was still suffering from some of the insecurities that he had arrived in their time with or if he was just so far into shock that he didn't know what he was asking.

"Sorry, Dad. Bad habit. I should have asked what did they do to try to find me? Why didn't it work?" Chris amended as a horrible feeling sunk into the pit of his stomach.

"They tried everything they could think of actually. But things were strange then. Not at all what the Charmed Ones were used to." Wyatt knew that he'd have to go into more detail as he stared at his family's perplexed looks. "It was quiet. For many years after you were taken there were very few demon attacks and no upper level demons came after them. It was as if they were all in hiding. Someone was bidding them to keep their distance. They all went on demon hunting parties into the underworld quite regularly actually. Even I was allowed to go when I became a teenager. But we only found lower level demons that never had any information for us. We tried spells to summon a lost witch. We tried scrying. Dad even begged the Eldars for their help, a lot of good that did though. It was as if you just vanished from the planet."

"How can that be? We found Leo in Valhalla. We've found demons in the Underworld before. There has never been a time when we absolutely could not find whoever we were looking for," Paige questioned. None of it made any sense to any of them. It shouldn't have been that hard.

"For a long while there I wondered if maybe he was dead," Wyatt admitted in shame. He hated to let Chris know that he had given up on him. "But not Mom and Dad. They said they could feel that he was still alive. Part of me thought it was just wishful thinking. But no, they were right. Not long after your fourteenth birthday you surfaced. That's when we realized why we had never been able to find you by scrying or summoning. That's when we realized just how much we had lost you."

"Are you saying that it gets worse?" Chris asked praying that his brother's next words wouldn't tear his fragile heart completely apart but fearing that was exactly what was to come.

"I'm afraid so." Wyatt bit his lip trying to force himself to say the words he knew would destroy his brother's already messed up psyche. "I don't know how it was done. I don't know who initiated it, but somehow the spirit of The Source was summoned and had possessed you."

Phoebe sucked in her breath sharply and fell back on her bottom from the shock of those words. "No, The Source was destroyed when we vanquished Cole, damnit," she cursed angrily. She couldn't accept the fact that all they had done, everything she had gone through and lost had been for nothing.

Piper had moved forward after she placed her baby in the bassinette next to Wyatt's playpen. He had quickly went back to sleep. But before she moved away she whispered softly to her toddler. "Watch your baby brother, Wyatt. Please don't let anything happen to him." She knew it was irrational to expect a small child like Wyatt to protect his brother, much less understand that his brother needed protecting but still something told her that he would do what was necessary.

Piper was finally ready to deal with what was happening around them. She would not let anything happen to her baby and she stepped forward speaking the one thing they all knew. "But that wasn't the first time someone vanquished that sorry demon's spirit so none of us should be surprised that he managed to find a new way."

"No it wasn't," Paige agreed. "Why does he always manage to find a get out of hell free card?"

Chris shook his head as a small chuckle escaped his lips. At least someone could see the irony in this situation and use it for a laugh.

Piper looked down at her youngest son. She could see the anger and bitterness flashing in his beautiful eyes. He didn't deserve this pain and it angered him that after all he'd been through this was the reward he had won. She didn't blame him but still his anger wouldn't help him. She knew she'd have to take control and soon before they all ended up lost. "Okay, let's see what we got to work on here. First, we do know when Chris is taken. Second, we don't know who takes him. Third, we don't know where he was taken. And Fourth, we don't know what turned him or how he became The Source of all Evil. Does that about sum it up?"

Wyatt nodded sadly. Hearing his mother lay it all out like that certainly made the utter failure of it all stick out in their minds.

"I'm screwed," Chris said dejectedly letting his head fall back to his knees again.

"Christopher!" Piper's eyes flashed in anger.

"Sorry, Mom. I'll watch the language," came his muffled reply.

She stopped the angry tirade that had started to form on her lips as she heard the pain in his voice. "Look at me, Chris," she said softly kneeling on the ground in front of him reaching out and running her hand through his unruly brown locks. His head rose and she looked into those crystal green orbs and saw the despair there. "Chris, I'm not mad at you because of the language. I'm mad because you seem to be giving up."

Chris was lost in thought for a moment as he stared into his mom's eyes that were filled with all the love and tenderness he had ever hoped to regain. But wasn't it a little too little, a little too late for him now? "Mom, you guys try everything in the future to save me. You heard him. None of it works. Is there anything else I can do? I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it would have been best if Wyatt hadn't come back to heal me." For the first time in his life Chris felt completely helpless and out of control. Even in his past when Evil Wyatt had been torturing him he had always held hope that somehow he would fix it all. But this, this all seemed impossible to fix.

Leo gasped at his son's words. Never had he imagined that Chris would have wished death on his self. He had always been a fighter. "Chris, don't say that. You can't really mean that."

"Why not? Believe me I'd much rather face death than to become The Source of all Evil, Dad. I saw what evil did to Wyatt. I couldn't live with myself if I became a cold blooded murdering tyrant." Chris hadn't meant to compare himself to the former Wyatt. He knew that this Wyatt didn't have any memories from that other time and that it would be like a slap in the face for him, but he couldn't just keep it all bottled up inside. He glanced for a second at his brother and saw the way his face blanched at the mention of what his alter self had done. "Sorry, Wy. I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay, Chris. I understand where you are coming from, believe me." He hadn't mentioned the horrible things that his brother had done in his altered timeline either. He knew that Chris was tilting on the brink of a breakdown as it was. He wasn't willing to push him over the edge just yet.

Piper decided that she had to redirect her son's thoughts if she was ever gonna get him on the right track. "Chris, when you came back to the past how much did you know about what changed Wyatt?"

"Not much. Just when he was turned," he answered seeing the connection but not commenting on it.

"How hard did you fight to save Wyatt?" she asked her second question.

Chris just shrugged, not exactly knowing how to answer her.

"Chris, you worked day and night trying to find who turned Wyatt. You often went with too little sleep, too little food, and never with enough support from your family," Piper answered for him.

"But I had too," was all he could think to say. "And that wasn't your fault. You didn't know."

She decided to ignore his need to not place guilt on his family. That wasn't important right now. "Why did you have to? Why did it have to be you? Was it your responsibility to save your brother? You weren't the one who turned him evil. You weren't the oldest. You weren't his parent. You were not responsible for your brother, but still you took on that responsibility of your own free will and you never gave up." Her words made Chris frown. There had never been any question on whether or not he would try to save Wyatt. It was in his nature to do it and something he couldn't ever back down from. "So why are you so willing to give up on yourself when you weren't able to give up on him?" she asked softly.

Chris opened his mouth to answer her but then closed it again, knowing she wouldn't like what he was about to say.

"Go ahead, say it," she coaxed guessing that she already knew what he'd say.

"I had several reasons actually. Because it was Wyatt. Because everything he was doing to our world. Because he was important. He was the Twice Blessed child. Because I knew how much it would break your heart to see him like that. Because it killed me a little bit each time I saw him hurt someone. But most of all because he was my brother and I wanted him back." There were a million reasons but the last one was the one that had always been at the forefront of his mind.

"But what about you?" Piper asked hoping to finally pull the truth from him.

Chris frowned now. Why couldn't she just let it go? Did she really have to hear him say it? "Because I'm not important. Because I don't really matter." He could see the shocked expressions on his family's faces. "Oh come on. Don't tell me that you don't see the difference."

Leo wasn't sure if he wanted to throttle his son or take him into his arms and deny his words. Instead he settled on more information. "I don't know about anyone else here, Chris. But you are seriously gonna have to explain that one to me."

"I think it's rather obvious, Dad. Wyatt is the Twice Blessed one. The one that all the prophecies mentioned. For god sakes he's the wielder of Excalibur. Look at all his powers. He was most certainly meant to be here and meant to be special. But look at me. There's nothing special about me. I've got the same parents he has but I didn't end up with powers like his." He looked around to the others thinking that maybe one of them would understand. When his eyes lit on Phoebe a thought occurred to him. "It's just like you said, Aunt Phoebe, that day that I almost ceased to exist over nine months ago. Maybe I wasn't meant to exist. Maybe my whole reason for being was just to come back and warn you all about Wyatt."

Piper shot Phoebe a deadly look for even suggesting such a thing about her son but Phoebe ignored the look. She was more concerned about Chris' mental state at that time. "Chris, you know I didn't mean that when I said it. I was just frustrated because we couldn't find your parents and you were disappearing before our very eyes. You can't still believe that can you?"

Why shouldn't he? What proof did he ever have in his life that he was meant for anything more than just to be Wyatt's little brother? And by the looks of the Wyatt who was sitting next to him, who had grown up without a brother, he obviously didn't even need him to turn out okay. But what would their reaction be if he said something like that to them? He couldn't.

But he had to say something. Something they would understand possibly. "If you all would look at this the way I am, you might understand where I'm coming from. Everything in my life has seemed to work against me. First it was my original life, where you three died way too young, and Wyatt turned evil, not to mention the fact that Dad was never there for me and could have cared less if I lived or died. Then I come back here to the past and what happens then? How many times did I screw everything up before I managed to get it right? I split Mom and Dad up. I nearly got myself and all of you killed… oh I don't know, maybe a million times. And I made you all hate me and don't say that you didn't hate me, because you did, all of you. If Phoebe hadn't found out who I really was you might still hate me." They all began to interrupt him at that point but he shushed them and continued on. "Okay so fast forward to new future and hell that's worse than everything else. You don't have to say the words Wyatt. I can guess exactly what I've become and the things that I've done. I'm sorry but I just can't honestly say that I was ever meant to have a good existence and right now no existence is looking pretty damn tempting to me." To all of them listening his words seemed almost cold and unfeeling as they rambled out of him a mile a minute and none of them liked the way it sounded.

Wyatt was the only one able to talk after that as the others dwelled on everything else he had said. "So what are you suggesting, Chris?"

Chris turned to stare at his brother and the look on his face was enough to freeze the blood in Wyatt's veins. "Wy, you are not that dense. You are the freaking Twice Blessed. The most powerful witch alive. Get up and go back to the future and vanquish my sorry ass." His words were angry and they were bitter but he meant every one of them.

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_A/N: Well what do you think? Any questions, any comments? Is anyone confused about why this Chris is not evil in this timeline? I think I explained that part decently but I'm not sure. Anyhow next chapter we learn more about what happened to Chris in the future and action is taken._


	5. To Kill A Brother

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

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**Chapter 5 To Kill A Brother**

Wyatt stared dumbly at his brother not at all certain he had heard correctly.

Piper though had heard him and found herself feeling her blood begin to boil. "Christopher Perry Halliwell. What in the hell has gotten into you? Your brother is not going to vanquish you."

Chris rolled his eyes at his mother's reply. "And why exactly not? Isn't he a Halliwell? Isn't it his duty to protect the innocent? To kill evil in any form it might take?"

"Yeah well, the lines are a little fuzzier when the innocent you are trying to protect is the one who's evil," Wyatt countered standing as he crossed his arms over his chest towering over where his brother was sitting. Even though this Wyatt was different from the one he had known before he recognized the stance as meaning that Wyatt wouldn't back down from his opinions on this one.

Chris not wanting to seem any weaker than his near breakdown had portrayed him as also stood matching Wyatt's stance. "Listen, Wyatt, I don't really want to die. Don't get me wrong. This isn't some sort of convoluted form of suicide here. I'm just saying that if nothing else can be done, you are gonna have to face the facts and do what has to be done. One way or another, you have to stop me and I'm giving you full permission to do whatever is necessary."

"Chris, before when I was evil, could you have killed me?" Wyatt asked, almost positive that he knew the answer.

Chris swallowed hard trying to figure out just how he could answer that. It pained him to have to admit the truth. "Honestly, I can't say that I never thought about it, Wyatt."

Shocked gasps were heard around the room. None of them had guessed just how desperate Chris had to have been at times; both in his former past and during the time he had been in their time with them.

"I must have really done some horrible things," Wyatt nodded in a sign of acceptance. "But you didn't try, did you? Never once."

Chris shook his head in the negative. How could he have? "No, but that was different," His voice was much softer and not nearly as strong as he had wanted it to seem.

"Why? Why was it so different?" Wyatt asked hoping that his brother wouldn't go on about how much more important Wyatt was. That was something that he found to be totally negligible. It didn't matter one iota to him who was stronger or who had what prophecy written about them. To him it was just family and they were all important in their own way.

"Because I knew you. I grew up with you. We played together just like normal brothers did and we fought like cats and dogs just as much. But you always protected me. You were always there for me, until the final turn. How could I kill someone who I had loved so much?" Chris asked his eyes filling with tears that did not break free making his eyes glisten like crystals in the almost gloom of the attic.

"Chris we all know how much you love your brother? But you have to realize that Wyatt loves you too. How can you expect him to be capable of something that you are not? Especially something like this." Leo interrupted feeling the fear grip his heart the more his sons spoke of killing each other. It wasn't right. It wasn't natural. And it wasn't something he'd allow even one of his sons to consider.

Chris couldn't answer his father. How could he explain to him that just maybe Wyatt was capable?

"I understand what he's saying, Dad," Wyatt whispered nodding in understanding. "I never got the chance to grow up with my brother. To me he should be a stranger. No different than any man I'd meet on the street. So for that reason it should be easier for me to do such a thing, now shouldn't it?"

Paige gasped. Is that really how Wyatt saw his brother? She didn't believe that at all. "But I saw you heal him, Wyatt. I saw the tears in your eyes. I heard the pain in your voice. You weren't faking any of that. I'd stake my life on that fact."

Wyatt turned to his aunt and thanked her silently for realizing his deception. "I said he **should** have been a stranger to me. And though, I never got to be there for him, or play with him, or even fight with him… Well at least not until recently. I did know my brother. I knew him from the words you all spoke to me. The stories you told of his visit to this time. The love in your hearts that shone through your eyes when you spoke of him. None of you ever stopped loving him. No matter what. And through you, I too had the opportunity to love my brother who I never really got to know." He too had tears starting to form in his eyes and it was plain to see how much he truly meant those words. "So tell me, Chris. Do you think I can just go back there and vanquish your evil counterpart? Especially after being in this time and meeting the **you** that they all told me about. Can I be that cold and heartless? Would you really want me to be? Because that would destroy me just as surely as it would you."

Chris had listened intently to his brother's words. And he knew in his heart that Wyatt could never do it. Not this Wyatt. This Wyatt was everything he had ever wanted him to be. Good, loyal, and loving almost to a fault. Oh he had done his job right. That was for sure. What a grand success his mission had turned out to be. "I'm sorry, Wyatt. No, I wouldn't want you to. I wasn't thinking," he whispered leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. He tried desperately to calm his frazzled nerves so he could take control again. But to do that he'd have to change the subject. He knew that his admissions were worrying his parents and aunts. But right now he had to concentrate on fixing the problem at hand. "So, did you come back here with any kind of plan in mind at all?"

Wyatt's face adopted an embarrassed look as he avoided looking at Chris. "Well um, that's sort of why we decided for me to come to this particular time and heal you. We sort of figured that since you did such a good job with the whole Gideon thing that maybe you'd have some thoughts on the current problem."

Chris immediately dropped his head back down facing his brother, an incredulous look covering his features. "Oh, and I really did such a good job with that, now didn't I? Gideon nearly killed me, Wyatt. I'd say somewhere along the way there my plan sort of failed! You know, I've been wondering about that for the last couple of days and I think I've come to the conclusion that if you hadn't have come back to save me that I would have died, now wouldn't I?"

Wyatt swallowed hard still avoiding Chris' eyes. "Would you buy it if I said 'future consequences'?"

Chris scowled and Paige and Phoebe couldn't hold back the giggles that were threatening to escape. Piper and Leo both gave them dirty looks quieting them immediately. They were still very worried about their son.

"Wyatt, you do not get to say that. You have already blown too much of our future for that to even count as an afterthought. Don't say it again," he warned.

Wyatt finally looked up to his brother and tried out a smile. "Chris, you're the best shot we have. The best shot you have. I have faith in you."

"Since when are you an optimist? It's really gonna take some getting used to, this new version of you?" Chris knew that the friendly bantering between he and his brother would go a long way towards calming everyone's nerves and they all needed it. "Okay, I know there has got to be more information you can tell us, so let's get to it," he said pushing away from the wall and walking towards the couch on the other side of the room taking a seat. His voice again sounded determined and strong, almost like the neurotic Chris Perry, they had met a year and a half before. He was back and they were all glad to hear it, because it would take his cunning and determination to face the current threat to their family.

The others followed him and took up places surrounding him. It wasn't hard to see that they were closing in ranks almost as if they were making a protective shield around him. It was comforting to know that they wanted to protect him, just as it had been comforting to hear that after all those years they had still loved him and spoke so fondly of him to his older brother in the future no matter what he had turned out as.

"Okay, so first off, six months from now, mini-me is taken captive by a shape-shifting demon. Did anyone see it happen?" Chris asked first trying to get a handle on the events as they happened.

"Well not originally, but the sisters have all traveled back in time several times over trying to stop it. But somehow everything they try gets messed up and the demon looks different every time." Wyatt couldn't even count all the times that they had tried and failed.

"Messed up, like what?" Paige asked curious about some of the things they had tried.

"Well facing the demon head on was a complete bust and several times nearly got your future selves killed." He remembered how haunted they had all seemed after returning to the future distraught and heartbroken.

"That certainly wouldn't help any of us," Chris stated thoughtfully. "And what else?"

"Well Dad tried both the Magic School and 'Up There'. But with Gideon gone the school has lost a lot of the protection it used to have and the demon was able to break the defenses. And 'Up There' is not a permanent fix due to the aging thing. None of us really relished the idea of a white haired, wrinkled baby Chris. So the demon just bid its time and waited till you brought him back." Wyatt knew how much Leo's faith in the Elders was tested over the years and he didn't want to mention to them that the Elders had almost refused to even let him take Chris to the heavens to begin with.

"It broke the defenses of Magic School. But I didn't think that was possible." Paige had a special place in her heart for the school and really didn't relish the thought of demons roaming its halls.

"It is now, well at least until a group of powerful witches figure out how to ward it better. But that's many years down the road when they are stronger." Wyatt knew that they would realize that he meant them but he at least wanted to sound like he was trying to keep some of the future's secrets.

"Right, then." Chris didn't care so much about what happened to the Magic School. Phoebe had seen the future where Paige was teaching there and he was positive that that would still happen. She was meant for it. "What about time travel? Did any of you consider hiding mini-me somewhere else in time?"

"Actually, we did try it. Our mom from the future came back here and took you to our time. I think it nearly killed this Piper though. But it didn't matter anyway. The demon found a way into our future too and snatched you again bringing you back here and starting it all over again. I tell you, everything we tried it was as if he knew we were gonna do it before we did." Wyatt shook his head remembering the small amount of time he had been able to spend with baby Chris. He had learned exactly what it was like to have a baby brother then and he had been just as heartbroken when he was taken.

"Um, Wy, you say that our future counterparts have been going back and forth through time for some time now. Aren't any of you worried about how much they might change while doing this? I mean, how many times in the future are our future selves gonna show up here? This is really confusing me." Phoebe always hated talking about time travel. If she thought too hard it would give her a headache she knew.

"Actually each time whoever is going back goes back to just a day or so further in time then the try before and when they fail they return to the point right before they left in the future so they can stop themselves from actually leaving. It's sort of like a reset button on a game. Of course the person who goes back will retain that knowledge and share it with the rest of us before we decide who will go next and what they will do. It took a lot of thought to come up with that strategy and other than the ones going back aging a little bit more than they should it has no adverse effects." There were several looks of confusion at this explanation. But Chris seemed to grasp it the easiest.

"That's rather brilliant actually. To be able to erase the mistakes you made before you ever made them would come in handy, well at least until you had spent so much time in the past that you have aged dramatically." Chris knew the theory well. He had originally intended to go back to the time right after he had last left the future which would put him still at the age of 21 but in all reality he had actually aged a little more than a year and a half while he was in the past making him 23. Phoebe was right though. If you thought about it too hard it would give you a headache.

"Since we have a few months notice on this thing maybe I should do a little investigating in the underworld. See if I can determine who the next up and coming power is. It makes perfect sense that whichever demon did this would have to be the most powerful out there," Leo suggested knowing that Chris would have normally been the one to take on that task. But Leo wanted to give he and Wyatt some time together. Time to possibly form the bonds of brotherhood that they had been deprived of so early on. When no one objected he orbed away in search of a demon to question.

Chris didn't even seem to notice Leo's offer to take on something he would normally do. Instead he was deep in thought himself but he didn't seem ready to share whatever it was he was thinking and didn't hardly blink as Leo orbed away.

"Alright, Paige you got the book. I want you to scour it for any demon that has shape-shifting abilities," Piper said taking charge as the oldest sister always did.

"And powers of premonition," Phoebe suggested. At the questioning look she received she explained her theory. "Wyatt said that the demon seemed to know exactly what we were gonna do next. It makes sense."

"Good thinking, Pheebs. I know with the way your active powers are right now your premonitions aren't all that reliable but do you think maybe you can try to write a spell that would shed some light on whoever this demon might be?" Piper knew that since the Tribunal had taken Phoebe's active powers away she had started to feel useless in the magic department but this at least was something she could do. Phoebe nodded quickly and took a seat at one of the tables with pen and paper in hand. "Now, you two, you need to get your heads together and see if you can pull anymore ideas on what to do out of them," she instructed her two grown up sons.

Chris just nodded but Wyatt had to ask a question. "And what are you gonna do, mom?"

Piper turned her head to where the younger versions of her children were. "If this demon can tell what we have planned then he might change his mind and come for Chris sooner. If he does I'm gonna be right there with him. And if the demon wants him, he'll have to take me too," she vowed standing and making her way over to sit next to her son's bassinette.

"Always the mother bear," Wyatt commented. "Keep my younger self close by, okay. In the few times that your future selves were able to hold the demon off for a while it was usually because the little guy shielded Chris. At that age, my shield can't last forever but it might make all the difference in the world."

* * *

_A/N: Okay, not much action I know, but you have to admit it was full of information. Next chapter Chris makes a rather shocking decision._


	6. Daring Decisions

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 6 Daring Decisions**

After several hours of discussing possible strategies Chris found his mind going back to one possibility that he dared not even mention to his family. Something that he knew none of them would ever consider being plausible. But still…

"You know, Wy, I think I need some time to myself. You've given me a lot to think about and I'm beginning to feel suffocated in here," Chris said surprising everyone in the room.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Piper asked in concern over her son. After everything that had happened to him that day it wouldn't surprise her if he were completely drained. But she hadn't exactly expected him to want to get away from them.

Chris stood and walked over to his mom, who had yet to leave his younger counterpart's side. He leaned over kissing her on the forehead. "I'm fine, Mom. You know you worry too much?"

Piper's heart swelled with the loving display by her normally stoic son. She reached up embracing him with a large smile plastered on her face. "With sons like you two, it's hard not to worry," she teased.

Chris chuckled at his mother's attempt a humor. "I just need some time," he assured her. Then before orbing out he whispered, "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too," she called as the blue and white orbs shimmered away. She looked to Wyatt and the concern was evident on his face also.

"It's a lot to cope with," he finally said shrugging. "He's actually doing a lot better than I expected him to."

* * *

Chris orbed to the Golden Gate Bridge and found a seat on the edge overlooking most of the city. It had become very dark and there was no moon in sight, but the city itself was lit up brighter than the moon could possibly think to be, the lights casting a golden glow upon the water below him. He enjoyed the peace and solitude he was always able to find in this place and he visited it often.

It was appealing for another very important reason to him though. The first time he had ever felt like his father had shared something with him was the day that he had first found the Elder in this very spot. At the time Leo had had no clue as to Chris' true identity, but still he had shared it with him and had not insisted that he leave, as Chris had feared he would. The father he had grown up with had never wanted to share anything with Chris but that was another time and events that had never actually taken place now that the future was changed. And the Leo that he knew from this time had more than made up for the pain his future counterpart had visited upon him.

As if the Elder could sense his son's thoughts about him blue and white orbs shone beside the solitary witch. "Hey, Dad," Chris said quietly not looking up. He could feel his father's soothing presence whenever he was near.

"Hey, Buddy, you okay?" Leo asked taking the seat next to his son.

Chris smiled chuckling slightly under his breath. They were so worried about him. Normally it would have bothered him and he would have thought they were way too overprotective. But on this night it was a comfort to know how much they truly cared. He'd need that knowledge in the near future to get him through what was to come. "Dad, I was wondering about something," he said avoiding the question.

"What's that, Chris?" Leo asked curious as to what would put his son so deep into thought and take him away from the Manor and those that loved him most.

"If I had went back to my time and I merged with that other version of me, what would it have been like? I know I'd keep my memories from this time, but what do you think it would have felt like?" he asked putting just the right amount of curiosity into his voice but trying not to seem overly anxious.

Leo winced thinking of what his son was asking. It wasn't something he ever truly wanted to contemplate happening. He didn't want to see Chris like that. He wanted him to always remain the son that he had learned to love in this time. But he couldn't just ignore the question. Chris had a right to know. "Don't ever mention any of this to your mother. She'd have kittens," he warned bringing a smile to his son's lips.

"Not a word," Chris assured him.

"Well there are many theories on the subject but the most popular one is that once you returned to your time you'd merge with the other version of you and at first it would seem like both of you were living in that body. Two separate people with two different sets of memories," Leo began to explain.

Chris' eyes widened. "Talk about a case of extreme schizophrenia there."

"Sorry, but yes. It might seem just like that. But it wouldn't last forever. Eventually, as long as neither of you were fighting it too hard, everything would meld until there was only one consciousness left." Leo finished and watched the reaction his son had. He had expected a negative reaction but instead saw his son nod in understanding and then smile at him thankfully. "Chris, why are you asking me about this?"

"No reason. I'm just really thankful that Wyatt came back to warn me. He's great isn't he?" Chris' tried to turn his father's thoughts to his older brother.

"Yeah, Chris. He's everything we wanted him to be and you can thank yourself for that one." The look Leo bestowed on his son was one of complete pride.

"Well I can't take all the credit, Dad. You were the one who saved him from Gideon." Chris was still a little uncomfortable with the whole 'hero' thing that his parents were insisting on treating him as. As far as he could see he had done what needed to be done and he had done it for selfish reasons to boot. He wanted his brother back and he wanted a decent life to return to. He never wanted to be a hero.

Leo understood his son's inability to accept the praise he deserved and he also knew that he was probably responsible for that, or at least his future self was. "You know, I never had the chance to tell you how sorry I was for the way my future self treated you."

Chris immediately started shaking his head. He didn't want his father to feel like he owed him an apology. "Hey, no! You don't have to do that. It took me some time to realize it but you are not the same man that I grew up with."

"I'm trying not to be, Chris. I don't want to repeat all the mistakes I made and I really don't want you to ever hate me again, either version of you." That statement made Leo realize that there was something else he had been meaning to tell his son. "You do realize that the version of you sitting here with me is just as important to me as your baby self back in the Manor, right?" Leo knew that it would be just as easy to just say he'd start over with baby Chris and make sure nothing went wrong this time around but he also wanted to make sure that the grown up version of his son, who did have every right to hate him, wouldn't do so.

"You know, until Wyatt came back and told me about your future selves I really wasn't so sure about that. But not anymore. Just in the past few hours you have all shown me exactly how much I mean to you. And it really does make up for all the past pain. Or at least it makes me happier than I ever was before." For the first time he realized just how happy he truly was. No matter what changes had been made to him in the future; right then he was the happiest he'd ever been in his entire twenty-three years of life. "Which is really ironic with what we are facing right now I know."

"Ironic yes, but understandable," Leo agreed. "Now we just need to keep you that way, which means I probably should be getting back to my demon hunt."

"Yeah, I wanted to visit Magic School and take a look at some of the older texts. Maybe I can find something on the demon that takes mini-me." They both stood and Leo was about to orb when Chris laid one hand on his arm. "I love you, Dad. I don't think I've ever told you that, well at least not this version of you. But I really do."

Leo was completely taken by surprise at the admission but the smile on his face doubled in size and he felt as if everything in the world was finally right for a change. He reached out wrapping his son in a tight hug. "I love you too, Chris. I don't know how often I might have told you that in your future, but I promise you, you'll be hearing a lot of it from now on. I love you and I'm proud of you, Son."

"Thanks, Dad," Chris whispered his voice becoming strained as tears began to form in his eyes. When they pulled apart Chris gave his father that cocky lopsided grin that usually meant he was up to something and then he orbed away to Magic School.

* * *

Chris was very relieved that the school was virtually empty after the demise of its former headmaster. He really didn't want anyone to question what he was about to do. He had easily found what he wanted in the potion room and had just finished writing a letter that he left propped on Gideon's desk in the library with the words _Halliwell Family_ printed neatly on the envelope. He had specifically told his father that he was going to Magic School because he wanted them to find the letter once they realized what he had done.

He stood back carefully examining the Triquetra that he had just drawn on the wall. The lines were fluid and unbroken and he was pleased that it would do exactly as it was meant to. He was glad that he had found the leftover potion that his father had made. He really hadn't wanted to waste the time that it would take to reword the spell that he had used to bring him back to this time. There was only enough potion left for this one trip he knew but it would be enough.

For just a moment he spared a thought for the family he was leaving behind and felt as if his heart was breaking. He had already said goodbye to them once but at the time he thought he'd be going to a wonderful new version of his world where everything would be okay. But things were not okay and he knew it.

And there was Wyatt. He had come back to this time to stop Chris from doing exactly what he was doing right now. But that was before Chris had a plan. Albeit a plan that he knew his family would not agree with but still if his father's theories on time travel were correct, it might be the only way to save himself. But what if he was wrong? What if he didn't remember any of this? What if he just continued on as that evil version of himself?

He shook himself out of the worries that were starting to plague his mind. His mind was made up. This had to be done. He looked down staring at the last bottle of time travel potion and then threw it at the wall. He watched as it shattered against the Triquetra and then a loud snap was heard as the symbol began to glow blue showing the portal that would take him back to his time. With a heavy heart and an amazing amount of determination he stepped through the portal and out into what looked like the attic in the Manor. Nothing seemed all that different to him and he began to wonder if he had made a mistake and the potion hadn't worked. But then he heard loud steps come running up the stairs and into the room. He turned to see his mom and his aunt's surprised faces. Faces that looked twenty years older then when he had last seen them.

"Chris! But… What are you doing here?" Piper's hands flew up in defense not realizing exactly whom she was seeing.

"Wait, Piper. Look at him. That's not the Chris from our time," Phoebe said placing one hand on her sister's arm. "What happened? Wyatt was supposed to stop you from coming back here."

Paige looked around the room in confusion also. "Where is Wyatt?"

Chris wanted to answer them. He wanted to explain his plan and most of all he wanted to hug them all. They really were alive in his time. It was something he had prayed for and even though Wyatt had assured him that it was true he still had only half believed it. But he didn't get a chance to do any of those things as he felt a strong pull rip him from the room and even from the Manor sending him across the city and down into the Underworld.

It was a shock to be slammed mentally into himself in the dark unlit chamber that his evil self had chosen as his underworld home, for both versions of himself. "What the hell?" he heard himself growl angrily sitting quickly up from the bed he had been sleeping restlessly in.

A flame immediately appeared in a lamp across the room lighting the area enough so he could see his surroundings. He felt his body begin to move getting up and walking to a full length mirror against the wall and then concentrated on looking out through his eyes to the image staring back at him. He had expected maybe a version of himself that would look like the evil version from the alternate universe that Gideon had had access too. But instead he didn't look all that different from his normal self. His face was much paler with dark circles surrounding his eyes. His lips seemed darker, almost the shade of blood. And his hair instead of being the rich shade of brown he was used to was almost completely black and slightly longer. But his eyes were where the true difference was. He could no longer see his crystal green orbs that shone with a light of their own, but instead they were dark and dull and almost lifeless. It was certainly a frightening sight to behold. And then he sensed it.

The malevolent spirit that had been known as The Source was right there within him, threatening to encompass every part of his soul, driving all of the warmth and happiness right out of him. He hadn't realized just how hard a fight it would be to withstand that presence. But a fight it would be and one he could not lose. His very soul depended on it.

* * *

_A/N: Okay, yeah, I know. Did any of you really expect anything different from Chris? When has he ever done anything the safe way? But what exactly is he planning you ask? You'll have to read on to see. Sorry this chapter wasn't as long. It just seemed like a good place to end it._


	7. Getting to Know Each Other

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** All words in italics are internal conversations between both versions of Chris. Regular print will be their interaction with others. I will call our lovable non-evil witchlighter simply 'Chris' and the other evil version will be 'Dark Chris' I use that term in a future fic also and tend to prefer it over 'Evil Chris'. As a warning this fic is gonna give a new meaning to the words 'talking to one's self'.

* * *

**Chapter 7 Getting to Know Each Other**

Chris immediately slammed shut the barriers that he usually used to block his mind from others prying. He couldn't risk the evil surrounding him being able to search through his thoughts.

"_Who the hell are you?" Chris heard echo through his mind. _

"_I'm shocked. Don't you know yourself when you see you?" Chris asked casually never letting his guard down._

"_Well it isn't as if I can actually see you, now is it?" the angry voice snapped at him. "And since I can just barely feel your presence that's no help either. Now how the hell did you get inside my mind?" The truth was he could feel the similarity between himself and the intruder inside but that still did not allay his suspicions._

_Chris wondered exactly what he should tell the dark version of himself. If he didn't give enough information his counterpart would clam up and quick and he'd lose all hope of gaining the information they needed. But if he gave too much information and his darker version discovered what he planned, well Chris hated to think of the consequences. _

"_So how much do you know about time travel?" he asked casually._

"_Not much, but it seems you do," Dark Chris answered._

"_Yes well, I've done some in my time," Chris answered cryptically._

"_Are you from another time?" Was the immediate question._

_Chris paused for a moment. How to phrase this. "Not another time, but a changed time. This time period but things were different before."_

"_Different, how?" Dark Chris asked in curiosity._

"_That's too much information right now. I don't want to overload your mind. Let's just say I went back in time to change some things and it worked. Now I'm back here and I have to merge with you." Chris hoped that it would be enough to hold his dark self off._

_This seemed to appease Dark Chris, slightly. "I don't know how to time travel. How were you able to go?"_

"_Let's just say that I knew some people who knew a spell. You don't know those people in this version of time." Chris didn't want to even mention The Charmed Ones yet._

_Chris could sense that his dark version also had barriers up an he knew he would eventually have to break them down to see the information he wanted but that could take some time. So instead he decided he'd have to get him to trust him first and that he'd have to do very slowly. "So, any thoughts on this situation for you?"_

_The dark version of himself paused thinking for a moment and then his answer was only half encouraging. "I don't like having someone else in my head, even if it is me. But you do have knowledge that I might be able to use. So I won't try to destroy you yet."_

"_I appreciate that. So since we are already up, mind telling me what we like to do for fun?" Chris asked almost dreading the answer. He had to convince this Chris that he was similar to him if he was ever gonna trust him enough to drop his guard._

"_Ah, that is easy. Very easy. I'll even show you," Dark Chris answered and Chris could see the cold calculating smile on his face._

_With that the image in the mirror shimmered away and when they reappeared Chris could see that they were in an alley somewhere in San Francisco. "What are we doing here? Don't tell me I've been reduced to rolling drunks in this new timeline."_

"_Not hardly," Dark Chris snorted in derision. "You'll see." With those words he moved to the end of the alley and across the street there was one shop left lit up. Chris could see that it was a Mystic Shop. Honestly it seemed as if he had visited it a time or two in the past timeline. It hadn't existed in his original timeline though. Wyatt had destroyed every source of good magic imaginable. _

"_Honestly, I have minions that would do this for me, but I enjoy the hands on approach myself," Dark Chris whispered a smile of glee touching his lips as a young woman in her early twenties exited the shop. "Perfect, there's one now."_

"_One what?" Chris asked anxiously._

"_A witch of course. I can smell it on the night air. Can't you?" Dark Chris said breathing in deeply. With those words he moved out of the shadows and silently slipped up behind where the woman was walking. _

_Chris began to feel panic grip him. What was he gonna do. Chris hadn't managed to gain control of his body yet and he knew he couldn't stop whatever was about to happen. "And what exactly are we gonna do to said witch?"_

_A small evil chuckle sounded from his lips causing the witch to turn his way._

"Who's there?" Who are you?" she asked looking at the figure still in the shadows a few feet behind her.

"Oh, I'm just an admirer of yours," Dark Chris said in a voice full of fake adoration.

"Don't come any closer or I'll…" She couldn't finish the sentence as he stepped from the shadows.

"You'll what? Scream. Call for help. Die of fright," he teased wickedly.

The witch sucked in a deep breath and then dropped the packages she was holding as she turned to run from the demonic figure.

"_Awe, why do they always run?" he cackled in delight. The truth was, he loved to see them run. To actually think that they could get away for a few seconds. It increased the thrill of the hunt._

He waited until she was almost to the next alley opening before he shimmered in right in front of her causing her to turn down the alley just as he had hoped she would and then he followed behind her at an easy relaxed pace. He knew the streets and alley's like the back of his hand and this particular alley was a dead end he knew.

He could see her scrabbling over leftover debris and boxes at the end of the alley, trying to find a way over the ten foot chain link fence that was constructed there. "There's no use trying to get away. I can find you anywhere you go."

"Please don't," she whimpered in fear.

"_Oh how I love when they beg," Dark Chris informed his inner self._

_His other version wasn't fairing as well with this display. He could see the terror written across the woman's face and there wasn't anything he could seem to do to stop this. His other version had complete control of his body. And if he said anything to alert him to his derision it would be tantamount to commiting suicide. 'Please forgive me,' he thought bitterly to himself._

Without blinking Dark Chris held up his hand and a fireball formed in his palm dancing to and fro as he seemed to enjoy teasing his prey with the sight of it. "Is begging the only thing you got, witch?"

"I have no… active p-p-powers," she stuttered over her own words.

"Ah, what a shame. Give my regards to the afterlife," he said finally releasing the fire ball and letting it sail quickly towards the witch engulfing her in flames.

'_Oh god, no,' Chris thought to himself as the witch seemed to disintegrate before his very eyes. 'Wyatt, didn't exaggerate.'_

"_So was that fun enough for you?" Dark Chris asked in a smirking tone. "Or should we find another?"_

"_No!" Chris said too quickly. "I think I'd rather see our domain instead," he added knowing he didn't want to seem at all squeamish in front of his other self even though he felt very ill at the moment."

* * *

_

After several hours of fruitless searching for information Paige slammed the cover of the Book of Shadows closed. "Now, I know why Chris was always so frustrated by this thing. Anytime you want to find something it's as obscure as mud, but if you don't want to it'll open right to the page you need."

Piper turned to her younger sister and could see the frustration growing there. Wyatt had joined her at the podium trying to pick out the demon who took Chris. He had spent over two hours shaking his head discounting the ones that he knew had been vanquished in the future. Which seemed to be all of them in the book. "I'm sorry, Aunt Paige. I've been through this book a million times in our future and never found any clues as to which one it could be."

"That's okay, it's not your fault. I'm just frustrated," Paige answered sadly. "Speaking of neurotic nephews, where is Chris? We could use a fresh perspective on this."

"Try calling him. He's probably had enough time to think things over by now," Piper suggested.

"Chris," Paige called out and waited for the tell tale blue and white orbs to appear, but when they didn't she looked surprised. "Chris!" she shouted a little louder this time. When once again he didn't answer she looked to Piper.

Piper looked towards the ceiling a growing look of fear in her eyes. "Christopher Perry Halliwell!" she snapped. But still no answer. "Can either of you sense him?"

Both Paige and Wyatt concentrated hard but the only being similar to Chris was the baby who Piper had been bouncing on her lap. They both shook their heads at the same time. "Mom!"

Piper then turned her head upward again. "Leo! We need you."

Blue and white orbs filtered into the room and formed into Leo before them. "What's wrong?" he immediately said in panic.

"We can't find Chris. They can't even sense him," Piper said in a rush her words laced in fear.

Leo sighed in relief for a second. "That's because he's at Magic School. He told me he was gonna do some research there."

Paige shook her head. Phoebe may be the Empath but she still could tell when things weren't completely right. "But he's not answering our calls. He should be able to hear us there."

Leo frowned. She was right. Chris should be able to hear them. "Maybe he's got you on mute again. I'll go check." With that he orbed out to Magic School.

Leo appeared in the main library at Magic School and looked around scanning for his son. "Chris!" Then he saw it. He walked quickly to the far wall that was normally blank and placed one hand on the chalk drawing of the Triquetra. "Chris, what have you done?"

Then he turned scanning the room again. "Chris, oh god, please tell me he hasn't. Chris!" But as his eyes traveled the contents of the room he noticed the envelope sitting on the desk. He quickly walked over and picked it up tearing it open and scanning it.

The letter drifted from his hands as he slumped backwards against one of the couches in the room. "No, no, no!" he screamed to the empty room. "Why couldn't you trust us to fix this?"

* * *

_A/N: Okay anyone liking what I'm doing with Chris? I know I haven't showed the others' reactions yet but I'll get there in next chapter. An evil plot bunny hit me so I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve. Next chapter in a few days. And yes I know it is a short chapter but I knew the next bit was gonna be longer and I like leaving it at Leo's reaction._


	8. The Letter

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 8 The Letter**

Phoebe had rejoined her sisters and nephew in the attic with several spell attempts that she had come up with to seek out the demon that would take her nephew. "I don't know, maybe my spell writing is becoming just as useless as my powers," she groused wadding the newest attempt up and tossing it in the half full trashcan.

"Come on, Pheebs. You are good at this. We all know that. It just hasn't come to you yet," Piper suggested knowing her sister was still worried over her sporadic lack of magic.

"Piper, we'd probably get further asking the old spirit board at this point," she pointed out hanging her head in disillusionment.

"We actually tried that in the future, Aunt Phoebe. It was your suggestion too if I remember right," Wyatt pointed out.

Phoebe looked up scowling. "My point exactly."

Piper and Paige were both about to argue the point when Leo orbed back in alone.

"It's about time," Piper started to complain but saw the look of anguish on her husband's face. She also looked around noticing that Chris wasn't with him. "Leo, where's Chris?"

Leo shook his head reaching out and handing her the letter and then made his way to the old beat up couch, slumping tiredly onto its cushions a look of utter defeat on his face.

"What's this, Leo?" she asked in confusion afraid to open the letter.

"A letter from Chris," he answered quietly. When he saw she was going to ask more he interrupted her. "Just read it."

Piper looked at the envelope as if it might bite her. "It's addressed to all of us." She swallowed hard and then pulled the letter free clearing her voice as she started to read it aloud.

_Dear Family,_

_Do any of you really know how great it is to be able to say that word? Family. My family. For so long I had thought that I'd never be able to have a family again. Maybe that I wasn't even Chris Halliwell anymore but just Chris Perry the Neurotic Whitelighter from the future. I don't think I've actually ever told any of you how relieved I was when you all found out about me. It's so much easier being who I really am and being able to care for my family again. _

_That's why it's so hard to do what I have to do right now. I know Wyatt came from the future to stop me from going back. He wanted to save me. Imagine that. I finally got my brother back. And look he's even a hero, just like I knew he would be. And I really appreciate the fact that he wants to save me, but I've figured out that the only way to save me is to let me go._

_Now before you all go ballistic on me, I'm not doing this out of some need to self-destruct or anything. I'm not that neurotic, Mom. But there is only one person who knows what demon takes mini-me. And he's in the future and I'm the only one who can get close enough to him to find out. _

"Oh god, Chris, you can't be serious," Wyatt said shaking his head in denial.

"I'm afraid he is," Leo whispered his voice breaking ever so slightly. "He's gone back to the future. I found the Triquetra at the Magic School and there was potion residue on the wall."

Piper had started crying but she couldn't stop reading her son's words.

_I know you are all going to be very angry with me for this. But I also know that it is the only way, whether you are willing to admit it or not. I asked Dad about it before I left. If I merge with my evil counterpart I should still be able to have some separate semblance of myself within him for a while. As long as I fight the merge, I won't become completely taken over. Then I just need to get him to trust me enough to spill his secrets._

_That's when Wyatt comes in. Bro, I'll need you to come back to our time so I can find a way to get the information you need to you. Then you go back to right before I was taken and defeat the demon that takes mini-me. At that everything will change and I'll be a new me, who is hopefully very good. Wy, I know you can do this. We can do this together. You and me, like it was always meant to be. I want a life where we are both good and our lives are worth living, one where those that we love are with us. Please, brother, help me to do this._

"Oh, Chris. But what if I lose you this time?" Wyatt wasn't at all certain he would be able to perform a miracle. And he didn't believe that it would take anything less to do so. He knew that this version of Chris had always considered himself to be inferior to Wyatt, but in all reality after everything his parents and the aunts had told him about Chris, he was the one who wasn't sure he had what it took to live up to his little brother's reputation as a miracle worker.

_Mom, I'm sorry that I didn't really get to say goodbye to you, like I wanted to. In all my life you have been the one person who I have loved unconditionally. I know over the past few months I did some things that probably hurt you, and certainly confused you. I think having to do that was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. A lot harder than coming back to save Wyatt, or facing Dad after the future we had, being nearly killed by Gideon, or even losing you in my future. Hurting you is the worst thing I ever had to do. I just hope that I'll get a chance to start over and do things right this time around. _

A strangled sob was ripped from Piper's mouth at that statement. "Oh, Chris. You didn't do anything wrong, baby," she whispered handing the letter to Wyatt, not able to continue reading it.

Wyatt took the letter and finished reading where his mother had left off.

_Aunt Paige, I know we didn't always get along and I know just how much I drove you crazy. And I really wish I could say I was sorry for that, but honestly it's who you and I are and I wouldn't change anything about it. Just remember that everything I do and say is out of love and respect. You have and always will be one of the strongest and smartest women I ever knew._

Paige just nodded. She had long since figured out what kind of relationship she and her nephew had. It was exasperating. It was downright annoying at times but it was always fun. "Thanks, kiddo," she whispered.

_Aunt Phoebe, I think you know me better than I do at times. Don't ever doubt your Empath powers. You are always right about me and most everything else they tell you. You are the one who always knows what to say to me when I need someone to talk to. You are the one who is always there with a silent nod letting me know that I've done right. You will always be my rock to lean on and my anchor to cling to._

Phoebe let out a hitching sigh and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I miss you already, little buddy."

_Dad, you and I sort of already said our peace, up on the bridge. I know you probably feel as if I was tricking you, asking you all those questions about time travel. Heck, in a way, I guess I was. It was not my intention to mislead you though. I really wanted to tell you what I was planning. I would have loved to have gotten your opinion on it before I went, but you and I both know what your reaction would have been. You have a good heart, Dad, but you often let it overrule what you know in your head. And I know you do that because you love us. I know that now at least. But my plan is sound. It should work. And as you know, I'd rather die than let things stay as they are in the future. So please trust me. I came back to your time to save Wyatt. Now let me go back to my own to save me._

_You all mean the world to me. That's why I have to do this. I don't want a future where I never got to be with any of you. I can't imagine anything worse and I can't bear living that existence. Please help me to do what I have to do._

_With love always,_

_Christopher Perry Halliwell _

With those last lines Wyatt folded the letter back again and handed it to his mother who was now in full out tears. She gripped the paper so hard that it crumpled in the center. She turned away from her family staring out the attic window trying to make a decision.

Phoebe finally expressed the question on all their minds. "What do we do?"

Piper turned to her face a mask of determination. "We get him back. That's what we do. We go to his time and find a way to bring him back here."

"Mom, he's already merged with his other self by now. What we bring back won't be the Chris you know," Wyatt warned realizing just how painful it would be for her to see her baby like that.

"Well, we find another way then," she insisted. "I know; we can go back in time to right before he went to the future, to Magic School. We'll talk him out of this foolish plan."

Phoebe and Paige were both nodding liking that idea but a lone voice of reason spoke up. "Piper, his plan is a good one," Leo said sighing heavily and burying his head in his hands.

"What?" she asked rounding on her husband.

"It's better than anything we've come up with so far," he answered really thinking about it. Chris was right. It was the best way if they wanted to succeed. It was just so hard to let him go and be apart of that monster that his brother had described.

"He's our son, Leo. We can't let him sacrifice himself like that. He deserves better." Piper wasn't gonna let it go this time. This was her baby and she could do something to help him. She knew she could.

"We let him sacrifice himself for Wyatt, didn't we?" Leo asked quietly.

Piper blanched. "That was different. We didn't know what would happen. We know now."

"Didn't we. No we didn't know Gideon would stab him. But didn't we know how much danger he was in if we left him to guard Wyatt? If Gideon were capable of killing a child, what difference would his grown brother have been? At least this time, Chris is the one calling the shots. He knows what he's doing, Piper. I trust him." Leo knew it was what Chris wanted. It's what he expected of him and he wouldn't let him down now by doubting him.

"But how can we stand by and do nothing?" Piper asked finally realizing that Leo was probably right, whether they liked it or not.

"We won't be. We'll do everything we can to protect baby Chris until Wyatt comes back with the answers we need." Leo looked to his oldest son and it wasn't hard to see the look of confidence he bestowed on him. "I know you'll do this, Wyatt. We all can see what you have become and we are proud of the man you are."

"I hope you are right, Dad. For all our sakes," he answered smiling wryly at his father.

* * *

The tour of their dominion was quite interesting to say the least. Chris couldn't help comparing his reign as The Source to Lord Wyatt's reign in his former past. It was different to say the least. Where Wyatt had tried to take over everything in sight going as far as to even expose magic and destroy the city above, Dark Chris had used a more subtle route keeping magic safe but ruling all demons lower and upper level alike. There seemed to be more demons in his world also. As if he was breeding them for something. They were everywhere and it seemed as if the underworld was gonna bust at the seems with the sheer multitude of them.

"_Why so many?" he finally asked, his curiosity getting the best of him._

_Dark Chris understood the question easily. "We are preparing for the final battle of good vs. evil."_

_Chris should have thought of that. He knew the legend, he knew the Valkyries. Why wouldn't Dark Chris be working towards the goal of evil winning? "I see."_

"_Is that not what we were doing in your version of time?" Dark Chris asked suspiciously._

_Chris knew he'd have to cover up really well on this one. "I wasn't exactly lead ruler in my time. I was second in command instead. And lets just say the goals weren't exactly the same." It wasn't completely untrue. Wyatt was the ruler in his version of time and he was his second, whether he wanted to be or not._

"_No wonder you went back to change time. I would never allow anyone to rule over me," Dark Chris said in utter disgust._

_Chris saw the opening and knew he'd have to take it. "Has anyone tried?"_

_Dark Chris scowled at the thought. "A long time ago, but I handled it. No need to worry about him anymore."_

"_That sounds like an interesting story. I'd like to hear it sometime," Chris prodded._

"_Not now," Dark Chris said snarling slightly. "I don't like to talk about that."

* * *

_

_A/N: Yeah, plot bunnies have nearly chewed my ears off in the last few days, so lets just say things are gonna get interesting. So what does everyone think? I'm dying to know._


	9. I’m a What?

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 9 I'm a What?**

"_You know, I'm sort of here to stay, so we might want to consider a little more information sharing," Chris suggested to his dark self._

"_You might be staying," Dark Chris reminded him. "I'm sure I can figure out a way to get rid of you if I wanted to."_

"_That's probably true, but if I'm no threat to you, why bother going to the trouble of getting rid of me when ultimately I might be able to help you with certain things." Chris was only guessing that the ploy he was working on would work but it was worth a risk._

"_Oh and how is that?" his counterpart asked sounding almost bored with the conversation as he continued walking through the underworld checking that his minions were still in line with his plans for the future._

"_I have this strange feeling that you have spent most of your life developing your active powers. But what about spells and potions? You should know that we have access to them with our power," Chris said dangling the bait._

"_Why would a demon who could do this…" with that he formed a fireball and slammed it into the nearest wall blowing away a good portion of it and taking out the hapless demon who was standing near it. "…need potions and spells?" he finished casually._

_Chris frowned. Had he never even learned anything about magic? Wait he said demon. Sure he was possessed by the Source but wouldn't he be considered to be a dark wizard anyway? He decided to test that notion. "Well what about your powers from before you became a demon? Aren't you ever tempted to tap into them?"_

_Dark Chris stopped moving and turned his entire attention inward. "What the hell are you talking about? I've always been a demon." Then his suspicions turned on full thrust. "Haven't I?"_

_Chris was shocked by those words. How could this be? Not only was he evil, but also he had no clue who he even was. 'It would have been nice to know that one' he thought to himself wondering why his brother hadn't mentioned it. But he had to concentrate on the task at hand. "Okay, this is exactly why I wanted to start the sharing of information thing."_

"_Well, you open your mind and I'll open mine," Dark Chris sneered deviously._

"_Not likely. Remember I'm you and just as suspicious as you are. Why don't we try a twenty questions style thing here? I'll ask you something, you answer, and then you get to ask me something and I'll answer," Chris suggested._

"_How do I know you won't lie?" Dark Chris asked always the pessimist._

"_Because you should know if I'm lying. I am you after all." Chris knew that wasn't necessarily true but he was willing to try it._

"_Fine, but I get the first question," Dark Chris insisted. "If I haven't always been a demon than what was I before that?"_

_That was something that Chris was pretty sure would be safe to answer. "You were born a witch."_

"_A what? You have got to be kidding me!" Dark Chris was livid with the revelation. He killed Witches every day. How could he have not known he had been one himself at one time?_

"_My turn," Chris said ignoring his other self's rage. He knew he'd have to start out small if he was ever going to draw his counterpart out. "In this version of time who is our main enemy?" _

_After a few more minutes of muttering angrily to himself Dark Chris decided to answer the question so he could ask another of his own. "That of course would be the Charmed Ones and their brat, Wyatt."_

_No surprise there. Chris waited for his counterpart's next question. "Same question to you." _

_Okay, Chris had to think about that one. Wyatt had been his main enemy but if he was to continue to get Dark Chris on his good side he'd have to think about this a little differently. As if he really was Wyatt's second in that other time. "A group called the Resistance. Witches, magic folk, a few mortals, even some demons that didn't follow our rule."_

_Chris decided to try a round about way of getting the information he wanted. "How come you thought you were always a demon?"_

_Dark Chris let loose a low growl before answering. "Because I was raised by them, and how come you thought you were a witch?"_

_Chris saw the irony of that question. "Because I was raised by them."_

_Dark Chris swiped his hand at a boulder in front of him and it flew into the wall beside him. "Enough questions," he growled out continuing to walk forward._

_But that one action was enough to give Chris some hope. His powers were still in this body somewhere, that meant that the witch that Dark Chris once was, was in there somewhere too.

* * *

_

"Okay, well I guess it's time," Wyatt said looking to his family a weak smile on his face. He had decided to erase the Triquetra that Chris had started to draw on the wall the day before and draw his own. Somehow he felt the need to do this all himself. He needed to build up his own courage if he was ever able to accomplish his task. He had reworded the spell that Chris had used to go back through time and now was able to use it to get back to his own time.

"Good luck, son. We'll see you in less than six months," Leo said placing one had on Wyatt's shoulder squeezing it tight. He knew how nervous his son was and how little faith he seemed to have in his own abilities. It was actually a surprise. For some reason he had figured that Wyatt would have grown up with more confidence than he seemed to possess especially after seeing how much the evil version of his son had possessed, but then again, maybe not having Chris there growing up with him had changed him. Maybe he had needed Chris somehow to push him into becoming a stronger, more confident person.

Piper also stepped forward along with her sisters and they all wrapped him in one large hug. "We have faith in you." Phoebe said, hoping to bolster her nephew's spirits.

"You can do this," Paige added smiling from ear to ear.

"We love you," Piper added last kissing her son on the cheek.

"Thank you all. I needed to hear that," he finally said pulling out of the hug and his smile seemed to strengthen as he accepted the courage they were offering him.

With that he turned away from them and started to read the spell he had reworded.

_Hear these words,_

_hear the rhyme,_

_heed the hope within my mind,_

_Send me forth to where I'll find,_

_My home in place and time._

With those words the Triquetra lit up a brilliant blue and Wyatt stepped through it with only one look back.

As he stepped out of the portal he could see three figures waiting for him. None of them looked all too happy.

"Okay, where exactly did our plan go wrong?" Piper asked staring at her oldest son. "Welcome home by the way," she added stepping forward and hugging him.

"Thanks," he said hugging her back. "And our plan went wrong when we assumed that Chris would do things our way."

"Ohhhh, why did we not consider that?" Phoebe asked also stepping up to hug her oldest nephew.

Paige just stood back shaking her head. "Maybe because we forgot how neurotic 'our Chris' really was." They all considered the version of Chris that they knew from before to be 'their Chris'. The one that had grown up to be evil in this time was still a part of their family as far as they were concerned but it was hard to lay claim to someone you barely knew. So they had taken to calling the first Chris 'their Chris'. It just made things easier when discussing the whole ordeal. "He'd never stand back and let someone else handle the problem if he thought he had a solution himself."

"Apparently he thinks he's got one too," Wyatt said shaking his head imagining just what was going on with his brother at that moment. "He says that he's going to find out who took him and then let me know somehow. Then I have to go back in time to right before it happens and stop it by vanquishing the demon."

"But, if he's merged with his other self… isn't he evil now?" Paige asked in confusion.

"As far as we can guess, not yet. He and … Dad had a talk about it and they figure that as long as he fights the merge he should be able to keep a separate semblance of himself inside of his evil counterpart," Wyatt answered sighing deeply. It wasn't hard to hear the pause before he said the word 'Dad'.

Piper drew in a deep breath at her son's words. "And what did you tell him about his Dad?" she asked once her heart had stopped beating a mile a minute.

Wyatt shook his head. "I couldn't tell him. I didn't want to lay one more thing on him that he'd feel guilty about."

Piper nodded in understanding. Parts of this she had already known. The minute Wyatt had saved Chris in the past things had started to change. They had started to gain new memories of him living and Wyatt coming back to save him. But not all of the memories had caught up yet and she was slightly confused as to how Chris had decided to come back to their own time. She knew it would take time for the old memories to fade and be replaced by the new ones. "Okay, do you know how he's gonna contact you?"

"No, he didn't say that in the letter he left us," Wyatt explained.

"A letter. He snuck out and just left you a letter. Why am I not surprised?" Paige asked remembering just how sneaky her nephew could be when he wanted to be.

"Paige, would we have let him go if we had known what he was going to do?" Phoebe asked knowing the answer was a resounding No!

"Of course not. I'm just mad that he messed our plan up," Paige confessed scowling at her sister. "Why do I feel like he's taking charge again like he did when we first met him?"

"Because he is," Piper answered smiling very pleased at the notion.

"I'm not going on any marathon demon hunts. I'm getting too old for that," Paige said turning and leaving the room realizing that they'd have to participate in the waiting game now.

This brought a smile to the other two sister's faces. They knew it was Paige's way of saying that she was glad her nephew was back in charge, but she'd never say it out loud. It just wasn't her way and she'd never give Chris the satisfaction of knowing it.

"This is gonna work. Don't worry so much, Wyatt," Piper said running her hand through her son's unruly blonde curls. "We'll have your brother back in no time."

"I hope so, Mom. I really hope so," Wyatt answered hugging his mother even closer.

* * *

_A/N: A little note here. I am sure you have all noticed the difference between the future version of the Charmed Ones and the Past Version. Doesn't the Future version seem a little bit more confident in Chris' abilities? Well there is a reason behind that. For twenty years now they have built Chris up to be this most awesome hero that sacrificed himself for his big brother. So in their minds that Chris is almost invincible. And he's also quite a lot for Wyatt to try to live up to. And no I'm not gonna say what has happened to Leo yet. It's a surprise. So don't ask._


	10. Powers and the Assassin

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 10 Powers and the Assassin**

_Chris and his evil self spent a very quiet night that night. That was to say that Dark Chris refused to talk to Chris whatsoever after their prior conversation, which left Chris pretty much to his own devices. Which meant he was bored out of his mind as he was forced to just basically ride around in what should have been his own body, with nothing to do except think. And think he did. A lot of things just didn't make sense. Why hadn't Wyatt told him that he didn't know who his family was? But then again, maybe the family had no idea of that fact themselves. That could prove to make things more difficult if they happened to end up facing off against his family. He hoped and prayed that Wyatt would just stay away until he found a way to discover Dark Chris' secrets._

_The next morning started just as the night before had and Chris was becoming increasingly agitated at being ignored. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. "Will you quit acting like a spoiled child and talk to me?"_

_Dark Chris had heard everything his counterpart had been saying to him but something was holding him back. That one revelation that he'd learned the day before was causing him to become completely confused. Born a witch. How was that possible? Wouldn't he have known somehow if it were true? And what of the demon who raised him. He had always said that Chris belonged to him, hadn't he? Though demons rarely showed any emotion besides for hate and malice the demon had always acted possessive of him. And he had taught him everything he knew. Just as a father should have. But was it all a lie?_

"_Listen, I know you probably didn't want to hear what I told you, but I had no idea that you didn't already know. And I know you don't like it, but isn't having the knowledge of it better than being left in the dark. You can even tap into it and use it for your own gain." Chris was becoming desperate. The longer he stayed in a body that was infused with the power of the Source the longer he risked it taking him over._

"_Oh shut up. You don't have to preach at me. I realize all of that," Dark Chris finally growled back. _

"_Well you could have at least acknowledged that you were hearing me." Chris had to keep reminding himself that this version of himself was raised completely different than he was. For a moment he flashed back to Aunt Paige's whole nurture vs. nature argument when they were dealing with the half-Manticore baby. So maybe she had a point. But that was something he'd certainly keep to himself._

"_All right, all right. What powers do you possess?" Dark Chris asked as they again started another tour of a different part of the underworld._

"_Now you know how this works. A power for a power. You go first," Chris said smiling at the ease it took to glean more information from his other self._

_Dark Chris grumbled but spoke up anyway. "Fire balls."_

"_I already knew that one," Chris complained._

"_Too bad. It's one of my powers. My most used power actually," Dark Chris gloated._

_Chris took back his thought about his own cleverness but it was his turn. "Telekinesis."_

_Dark Chris just scoffed. "I use that one too. Big deal."_

_Chris smiled then. "Oh but I'm sure you only use it in the traditional sense."_

"_What do you mean?" Dark Chris asked in confusion. _

_They were walking by a dozen demons and Chris had an idea. He had been slowly but surely attempting to control different parts of his body as the hours wore on. He had managed a few eye blinks and even some finger twitches that Dark Chris hadn't noticed. But he figured it was time to let that cat out of the bag. "You aren't particularly found of any of those demons are you?" he asked sweetly._

_Dark Chris glanced at the group. They were just a group of swarm demons. He couldn't even distinguish one from the next. "No."_

"_Good," Chris said happily. He used his will to force his hand to come up and then he closed the hand ever so slowly in a squeezing motion. The closest demon turned towards his master and grasped at his own throat falling to his knees as the very air he was breathing was taken away. Within seconds the demon disappeared in a puff of smoke and to their astonishment did not duplicate, as it should have. _

_Dark Chris stared in amazement. He had always used his power to knock others around but had never thought that it could be a killing power. But wait. "You are controlling my body now."_

"_Just barely. It takes a lot of concentration to do so. So what do think of that one?" Chris asked smoothing the incident over._

"_I like it," Dark Chris immediately said smiling happily. _

_Chris hated to say what he knew he had to if he wanted to gain his darker self's trust. "You know it works on the hearts of Mortals and Witches too and even on Valkyries."_

_That information was extremely pleasing to Dark Chris. "Oh it does. Yes, I really like it."_

"_Okay your turn," Chris said feeling slightly sick at the gleeful reaction._

"_Well I can speak to other's through my mind. It works well when I need to give orders to my minions," Dark Chris explained. It was a useful talent but not one he was too impressed with._

"_Telepathy. I'm sure that does come in handy," Chris acted slightly impressed. And why don't I have that power, he thought to himself angrily. Now that would have come in handy at times._

"_What else you got?" _

_Chris of course couldn't mention orbing. It would seem very strange to his darker version if he had a Whitelighter ability. But there was a Whitelighter power that he could mention. "Well I can sense where my allies are when I need to."_

_Dark Chris didn't seem impressed. "Ha, I can sense when my enemies are near. I'd say I'm one up on you there."_

_Chris didn't bother to mention that his allies were probably Dark Chris' enemies that he was sensing. Not really surprising there. He should be able to sense his family even if he didn't know who they were. The blood of his family still called to him. "Okay, so yours is better. What else?"_

"_Just one more." With that Chris felt as if part of his body was floating away from him and to his amazement he saw another version of himself appear a few feet away. _

"_Astral Projection. Oh that is so not fair." But something wasn't right about it. He was still moving and looking at himself. That's not how Astral Projection worked. _

_The projection turned and looked towards his body. "Why aren't you in a trance, like I always have been before?"_

"_Maybe because we haven't merged yet. Having the second consciousness might make it so we can each control a part of us," Chris suggested, not really sure that was plausible._

"_Hmm, that might also come in handy. Okay, not so bad." With that the projection disappeared and Chris could feel the darker presence reenter his body. "So you got anything else?"_

_Chris shook his head not even realizing that he was gaining more control of the body but neither did his dark self notice. "Sorry, that's it."_

"_Not very powerful are we?" Dark Chris leered at himself._

_Chris grimaced to himself. "Hey, I did say that we were not the most powerful in my timeline."_

"_And who exactly was your, what did you call him?" Dark Chris asked in curiosity._

_Chris paused. How dangerous could letting that one slip, he wondered. The sharing of information was increasing with everything he said. Soon he was positive he'd have enough of Dark Chris' confidence to learn who had taken him, but would it jeopardize his family? Then again, if Dark Chris could see some potential in Wyatt, it might just keep him from trying to kill him in the near future. His decision was made. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."_

_This piqued Dark Chris' interest even more. "Is it that unbelievable?"_

"_Would you believe that the one evil ruler of all demons and most of mankind alike, in my timeline, was Lord Wyatt?" Chris asked as if he was springing a huge surprise._

_Dark Chris paused to think for a minute. He knew the name Wyatt. But wait. "You can't mean the Halliwell brat can you?"_

"_The one and the only," Chris answered smugly._

"_But he's a good witch," Dark Chris said in complete shock._

"_Not in my timeline he wasn't. An Elder tried to kill him when he was a baby. It turned him evil. And he went on to take over and rule our world. I ended up being his second in command, before I got it into my head to go back and change things," Chris explained._

"_What did you do?" Chris could tell he had his darker self hooked with that. _

"_I went back and kept him from turning evil. You think I wanted to be ruled by him forever? I figured if not for him I'd be on the top. And as you can see, I was right." Chris thought he was spinning the tale perfectly._

_Until Dark Chris thought of something he hadn't. "Why didn't you just kill him?"_

_Such a good question. Why didn't he think of it? But improvise he must. "I originally planned to do that but things didn't go as I wanted them to and I ended up missing my chance. But the witches' father ended up saving him anyway. And since things worked out relatively well, I'm not complaining."_

_Dark Chris nodded in understanding. "To bad you couldn't have killed the brat though. Him and his family have been killing my demons faster than I can recruit them."_

"_Yeah, too bad," Chris said in agreement the thought making him want to shiver. "So what's next for us?"_

"_I need to check the new captives out. We have some cages set up in the next chamber," Dark Chris answered. As they entered the dark cavern, Chris could see ten cages lined in a row. "These chambers are warded with an anti-shimmering and anti-flaming spell." Dark Chris explained._

"_I thought you didn't use spells," Chris asked surprised._

"_I don't, but some of my minions do," he answered. "There are other chambers that have anti-orbing spells cast. We keep the Whitelighter prisoners separate from these demons and witches that aren't sure which side they should be on."_

_Chris glanced at the cages seeing both witches and demons alike. They all were in pretty bad shape, he noticed. One of the cages was still empty and he could hear that another prisoner was being drug in through the door behind them._

"Master, we finally caught the assassin," a brute demon spoke holding the prisoner back.

Chris wanted to scream when he saw the prisoner, but he bit his lip trying not to make a sound. He should have known. She was good at what she did and if someone had paid her to try to assassinate Wyatt in his timeline why wouldn't they do the same to Chris in this one? That was how they had first met. A disgruntled demon had paid her to kill Lord Wyatt and Chris had stopped her. Even though they were on different sides it wasn't long before they became close. Bianca.

"Did she say who hired her?" Dark Chris asked staring at the lovely creature before him. She was being held by a brute demon on each side but he noticed her feet were not chained. She stopped struggling when she saw him and her eyes narrowed in anger but a cocky grin lit her face.

Chris saw the look in her eye and knew it was coming. It was just like before. He knew he'd have to react if he was ever to survive this. He summoned every bit of will power he had to take over the body he was in tossing himself backwards as she jumped up kicking both demons away from her. They had underestimated her just the same as in his timeline. When she landed back on the ground she was surprised to see her pray standing across the room instead of in front of her.

_"What is going on? How did you know she'd attack?" Dark Chris bellowed inside his mind._

_"I've been here before," he answered calmly. "Just let me handle this._

With that Chris moved forward smiling with a cocky grin. "You're good, I have to admit."

Bianca gave him a sweet smile. "I'd say better than you," she answered, moving forward herself.

Once they were within five feet of each other they began to circle each other as she sized him up. Once her mind was made up on a course of action she moved forward as an Athame appeared in her hand. Chris knew her style. He knew her every move before she made it, otherwise she would have made quick work out of him. But to her surprise he blocked every blow and countered ever move. But he did not strike her even though he had a few opportunities to do so.

_He remembered the first time they had fought in his own timeline. She had made very quick work out of him. He had only been saved by two demons shimmering in and stopping her but she had escaped that time. Once Wyatt found out the demons hadn't survived long, though. _

_Then the second time they had fought again she had had him beaten and there were no demons there to save him that time, but for some reason she hadn't been able to make the killing blow. Instead she had said something that surprised him. _

_She was crouched over him the Athame at his throat and could have easily ended his life. But instead she said, "Haven't we been here before?" She had given him a seductive smile with the words that had emboldened his own response._

"_Maybe we'll be here again," he answered. He had stopped struggling against her and he gave her a look of undeniable longing._

_"Maybe," was her only answer as she shimmered away._

_Each time they had fought after that had always ended with the same result. She would beat him and say those words he so wanted to hear, and he would answer in kind, waiting for that 'maybe'._

_Until the last time they fought. She had said her line and then he had returned with his but instead of that 'maybe' he had expected she had bent down and placed a hesitant kiss on his lips, which had turned into so much more._

He shook his mind from his memories not even realizing that his dark self had seen all of it. But it was time to end this. The final blow that he knew would put him on the ground was next to come and he didn't see a 'maybe' in his future. So as she swung her leg out to try to catch his and knock him down he jumped over her leg and then twisted as he came down allowing him to shove her to the ground himself. He immediately crouched over her his hand grasping hers that still held the Athame and then forcing it next to her throat. But he didn't make the killing blow. He couldn't.

Before he realized what he'd said the words came unbidden to his lips. "Haven't we been here before?" He knew she wouldn't realize what the words meant but still…He willed her to somehow know how to respond.

She looked at him in confusion but without thinking she answered. "Maybe we will be again."

He smiled at her very pleased that something had carried over from his timeline at least. "Maybe." Then he stood pulling the Athame from her hand as he did.

She looked up at him in confusion as he backed away from her. The demons that had brought her in stepped forward to grab her but Chris tk'd them both away from her.

_"What are you doing? She tried to kill us," Dark Chris shouted inside his mind._

_Chris couldn't help the emotion that was sliding through him then and he was positive his darker self could feel it too. "In my timeline she died saving us."_

_That shocked Dark Chris but still he immediately took control of his body again. For a split second Chris feared that he'd kill her._

"Leave," he said motioning her to the door. "Before I change my mind."

She glanced at him again and then strode out as fast as she could move. Chris knew she'd try again but just maybe he'd be able to change things first and wouldn't have to fear for her life again.

* * *

_A/N: Before anyone asks, no Bianca is not going to be an ongoing character in this fic. I used her as a way to show Dark Chris a little insight into his counterpart's way of thinking. Sorry this is not a romance. So that being said, what did you think?_


	11. Confrontations

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Well I do apologize for the long wait on this story but now that I've finished Be Careful I can get back to this one. I will warn though that I will only be updating about once a week, unless I just get really industrious. At this time I am writing a novel to publish so that is taking up a lot of my time. But I still love writing Charmed fics. They calm my nerves and keep the writer's block demons away. So with that said, next chapter is up. _Italics_ in this chapter represent a flashback.

* * *

**Chapter 11 Confrontations**

"Hey, Sweetie, wha'cha doing?" Piper asked her oldest son as she stepped into the attic. She was becoming increasingly concerned about him as the time ticked by since he returned. Wyatt had always been her loving little boy. He always seemed happy with his life, well most of his life, but since returning from the past his demeanor had taken a change. He seemed almost sullen.

It was easy to see that he was flipping through the Book of Shadows, again going though and trying to find the demon that took his brother. "What am I always doing, Mom?"

Yeah, she had to admit that about ninety five percent of the time she and her son spent in the quest to save Chris, and if a stray demon or two got killed in the process, oh well, they shouldn't have gotten in the way. "Maybe you need a break from this, Wyatt," she suggested worrying over her son's health. He needed to spend some time with people his own age and try to have some semblance of a life outside of the quest to save his brother. His aunts and the rest of the extended family had managed to somehow do that but Wyatt didn't even bother.

He looked up at her with a shocked look on his face. "When we are this close, you tell me to take a break?"

She moved across the attic and placed one hand over where his rested on the Book. "You need it, Wyatt, and besides Chris is taking care of it. When he's ready, he'll find a way to contact us. You need to rest between now and then because the only one who's gonna be powerful enough to vanquish this demon is you."

Wyatt could see the utter faith she had in Chris and, though it was nice to know that she trusted him so much, Wyatt still couldn't help the fear bubbling inside of him. He pulled his hand out from under hers and walked across the room and slid down onto the couch. "Mom, I know you've got it in your head that the Chris from your past is this big hero and all and he really is. I don't deny that at all, but I think you are counting way too much on the image of him that you see."

Piper's eyes crinkled in a slight bit of confusion. "What do you mean, Wyatt?" she asked hesitantly.

Wyatt was trying to explain this without severely ticking his mother off and one thought came to mind. "In the new memories that you've received since we came back, do you remember Chris' reaction to all of this?"

She frowned trying to concentrate on the new memories she had recently received. "Well, I guess he was shocked and upset but to me it seems like such a long time ago. I know you just lived it a couple of days ago though, so you should remember it better than I."

"Mom, he was really freaked out and if you look at it the way I am you'll understand that it was just a couple of days ago for him too. I'm worried about whether or not he can handle it." He knew that in his mother's mind the memory was faded and she apparently only remembered Chris taking charge in the end and doing things his way but Wyatt remembered all of the pain his brother had felt and the fact that for a few moments Chris was ready to give up. "Mom, I know you love Chris for everything he did and believe me, I do too, especially after meeting the Chris you remember. He is just awesome but I think you are all expecting too much from him. He doesn't want to be a hero and he needs us to help him in any way we can."

Piper bit her lip thinking for a moment. Had she been fooling herself all of these years into believing that her second son was invincible? Of course he wasn't. Hadn't he died the first time around before Wyatt went back and changed things? That memory was slowly fading from her mind to be replaced by Wyatt saving him but she knew that it had originally happened. But Chris had done so much for them and all of the sacrifices he made to save his brother and basically the whole damn world. Was she putting him on too high a pedestal and if so how hard would he fall? "Wyatt, has it been that bad?" she asked quietly.

Wyatt understood exactly what she was asking. "Living in the shadow of a brother who died for me? Yes and no. Your perception of him is really hard to live up to but since it was the only way for me to really know him I'm not complaining about it. Believe me, I'll take whatever I can get."

She walked over and had a seat beside her son. "Chris really would hate it if he knew the way we think about him, wouldn't he?"

Wyatt actually had some idea of how Chris would feel since he had partially revealed their feelings to him when they were still in the past. "He'd certainly tell you to lay off the whole hero thing. I think that embarrasses him to no end. But I talked to him about the rest and it made him really happy to know how much you all still love him even with everything that's happened."

Piper smiled at that. She could still remember the look that he sometimes gave her when she was being too much of a proud mother during the short time they had had together in the past. That look was a cross between exasperation and disdain and she knew it well. She could only imagine that look crossing his face every time he thought of them calling him a hero. That was not something that Chris considered himself to be at all. "You know seeing everything that has happened since then I'm glad that we had the time we did with him. It really helps to know just what type of son he could have been if given a chance. Not saying that we wouldn't have loved him anyway. We would have. It's just that…" At that she paused not sure how to continue.

"I understand, Mom. It helps to know exactly what you're fighting for," Wyatt finished for her.

Piper nodded in agreement giving her son a thankful smile. He did understand. "So, what do you think we should do to help him?" she asked moving on to what needed to be done.

"Well first I'd like to even be sure that he's still there. What if Dad was wrong about time travel and none of Chris' old memories survived the merge? I hate thinking about it but it's always a possibility." What would they do if the Chris they all truly cared about was just gone?

"You want to go find him, don't you?" she asked her voice trembling slightly. She remembered the last time that Wyatt had sought out his brother. It was just a few days after Leo had disappeared and Wyatt was sure that Chris had had something to do with it so he had went searching for him.

"_Where is he?" Wyatt screamed in anger facing his brother in an underground cavern. _

_Chris had stood smugly with his arms partially crossed but he held a fireball balanced on one of his palms ready to toss it if necessary. He hadn't expected the Halliwell brat to come looking for him. It was a bold move on his part. "What has you in such an uproar now, Witch?"_

"_You know exactly what has me pissed. I want to know what you did with my father. You know, Leo Wyatt, The Elder. That ring any bells?" Wyatt asked his hands up and ready to deflect his brother's attack when it came and he was positive that it would come._

_That gave Chris some pause. A group of Elders had tried to kill him a few days before. He had actually killed them all except for one of them. It had been a shock when one of them had turned and tried to defend him against the others. He had never imagined that an Elder would betray his own, especially not to try to protect him. Now what had those other Elder's called him? That's right it had been Leo. "Oh yeah, him. If I remember right he is in my dungeons. The least I could do was to spare him after he betrayed his friends to save me. So how does it feel to have a traitor for a father?"_

"_You bastard," Wyatt screamed and flung his hand out tossing Chris across the chamber with his powers of telekinesis._

_Chris had been slightly surprised by the veracity of the attack. Every other time that he had fought the witch it was almost as if he was holding back; but not this time. 'So the witch has a weakness' he thought deviously to himself. With that he stood and threw a fireball at him. "My if I only realized how you'd react I might have invited him to this little get together." _

"I want him back and I want him now," Wyatt called tele-orbing the fireball back at his brother, not bothering to redirect it so it wouldn't hit Chris. Time for pulling punches was over.

_Chris easily dodged his own weapon and aimed two more directly at Wyatt. This was a little trickier to deflect but still Wyatt did so, not even getting singed. "Oh, but I like having him as a guest. It's not many a demon that can boast of having an Elder for a pet."_

_Wyatt growled in frustration. This was getting him nowhere. Unless he could threaten Chris with worse bodily harm he would never learn where he was holding him. 'So let's take this a little bit closer' he thought to himself orbing across the room and reappearing just inches from Chris. With that he struck out with his fist landing a sound punch to his face and knocking him backwards to the ground._

_Chris' eyes widened in astonishment. He had expected spells. He had expected potions but never had he expected hand-to-hand combat from the witch. What a surprise that was. But he was no good at that kind of fighting. He had truly never took the time to learn. _

_Wyatt didn't give him time to react. He knew he had to keep Chris' hands immobile if he was to survive this encounter. So he dove on top of him pinning his arms to the cavern floor with his knees. Within seconds Wyatt had a potion in his hand held over Chris' head. "Don't even try to move."_

_Chris just scoffed at the threat. "You know that won't kill me. Do you think the Source can be vanquished by just a simple potion?"_

"_I'm not trying to kill you. But if I pour this potion on your face you'll have some wonderful scars to match that twisted soul of yours." With those words Wyatt flipped the cork from the bottle with his thumb and tilted the vial just barely, ready to empty it if he needed to. _

_Chris had been fighting until those words were said and then he suddenly stilled. Many demons were scared and disfigured. It was a part of the job. The original Source had even looked like something out of a child's nightmares but that didn't mean he wanted to join the ranks of the permanently damaged. 'Live to fight another day' he thought bitterly to himself and then shimmered from under Wyatt and into his own private chambers. _

"_Damn you, Chris," Wyatt screamed throwing the harmless vial of water at the cavern wall. It had been a bluff and it hadn't worked at all to his advantage as he was hoping. He had never figured that Chris would run. That just didn't seem right to him somehow. Halliwell's didn't run from a challenge. But how much Halliwell was really left in him?_

_Chris was seething in anger. How had the witch brat gotten the best of him? That was something that had never happened before and he had certainly never ran from a fight before. He growled in anger and formed a fireball throwing it at the cavern wall scorching it black. "Damn all you Halliwells," he cursed bitterly. _

"I know it worries you, Mom, but I don't see where I have a choice. I have to know if our Chris has managed to find a place inside of that monster," Wyatt said in complete determination.

Piper nodded knowing she couldn't convince him otherwise or hold him back from what he needed to do. "Just please be careful."

"I will, Mom," he answered her as he gave her a tight hug and then orbed away.

* * *

_A/N: Well what have I done? Poor Leo always gets the shaft in my stories. I really like the guy, I promise, but it's just so tempting to abduct him for some reason. But you must admit the Valkyries did it first so it's all their fault. Next chapter should be up within a week._


	12. Good vs Evil

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Well here's another installment. I hope you enjoy it and for those of you waiting on an update of Lost Child, it will be up as soon as I can get to it.

* * *

**Chapter 12 Good vs. Evil**

Wyatt orbed into the cavern that he had confronted Dark Chris in the last time and stared around himself wondering just where to go next. It had only been by chance that he had managed to find him there before. Or had it been? He remembered distinctly concentrating on Chris even while in the rage over his father's disappearance. Had he somehow unconsciously called Chris to him before and if so would it work again? There was only one way to find out. So he stared at the bare cavern wall before him and concentrated on the image of his brother. Not the image of Chris that he now had after meeting him in the past but the darker more sinister picture he had in his mind of the Chris from this time.

Only a few moments passed before he saw the air before him shimmer and a figure appeared there. "You are a glutton for punishment, Charmed Brat," Dark Chris said powering up a fireball and juggling it from one hand to the other.

Wyatt sneered at that. "If I remember right it was you who shimmered out before we were done last time but at least you got to keep that pretty face of yours."

"That was then. This is different," came the cocky reply. _"You can beat him the same as the Phoenix Witch, can't you?" he added silently to the new voice inside his mind._

_Chris could feel the panic welling inside him. He couldn't fight Wyatt, not even to save his self. But to come up with a good enough excuse…'Wait,' he thought as an idea came to mind. Maybe this was just the opportunity he needed. "Will you give me complete control?" he asked his dark self._

"_If you can defeat him, yes. But the minute I feel that you are going to fail, I'm pulling back," Dark Chris warned._

"_That's fair," Chris answered taking control of the body not missing a beat with the fireball that he was juggling from hand to hand. _

"So, Witch, why are you here this time?" Chris asked catching onto the fact that this was not their first meeting.

Wyatt stared at the dark figure before him and felt all his hopes die. Chris truly wasn't there. He was gone, fully absorbed by The Source. All of their hopes had failed and there was nowhere left to go. "It's no longer important," he whispered swallowing back the pain he could feel welling inside of him.

Chris' eyebrows shot up at that and he wondered exactly what his brother was thinking. "Maybe for this," he said letting loose of the fireball sending it to land just between Wyatt's feet.

"_What was that? You missed," Dark Chris spat in anger._

"_Hey, you got to play with the other witch when I first arrived. Let me have a little fun too, okay," Chris answered playfully knowing his darker self would do the same thing if he had the chance._

"_My, aren't we confident?" Dark Chris said sarcastically._

"_I spent how many years licking the boots of this creep's alternate self? I deserve this," Chris answered playing along perfectly._

Wyatt didn't even flinch at the missed projectile. It hadn't surprised him that Chris wanted to play with him first. That was part of the whole dance they had been sharing for years now. He immediately swiped his hand out throwing his brother across the room but only half-heartedly. After the disappointment he felt he just didn't have the strength or the urge to truly attack his brother.

Chris looked up feeling a slight bit of déjà vu at the situation. Hadn't he and Wyatt done this several times in Chris' original timeline? But he had to remind himself that Wyatt was the one fighting to save the world this time. He saw Wyatt hesitate as he stood and returned the favor of knocking him across the room sending him further away with a stronger blow. He realized then that even though Wyatt had no way of knowing that he had an ally in the room he had pulled back his powers when he attacked anyway. There was still hope that the plan might work if he could somehow let Wyatt know that he survived the merge.

It was time to try something risky. Chris immediately attempted to use the power of Astral Projection as he pulled his consciousness into the second form that had appeared next to Wyatt's downed body. Chris knew that his darker self, who was still in his real body, would never be able to sense his thoughts while he was not actually in the projection.

Chris leaned over and grasped Wyatt's shirt lifting him slightly as he forced him to look at him. He knew he would have to seem rough to keep his cover, so he whispered, "Sorry, Wy, I have no choice," as he pulled his arm back and threw a fist into his face.

Wyatt had been momentarily caught off guard by the words but the action just triggered his anger as he blocked the next blow and threw Chris back slamming him into a stone column a few feet away. He could feel rage bubbling up inside him at the thought of losing the brother he had wanted to love so much. This creature had taken that from him and he'd never be able to forgive him for that. He was up within seconds and was kneeling over Chris reaching out to pummel his attacker but he paused for a moment as he saw the pleading look in his eyes. It was not a look he had ever saw in this version of his brother's eyes before. Wait, those eyes were green, not black as they had always been since he was taken over by The Source. How could that be?

Chris could see that he had caught Wyatt's attention, but he knew he needed to continue the farce to convince his darker self. He glanced towards his body, which was still standing across the cavern watching curiously. Wyatt also followed his eyes and saw Chris' body. He had no idea that Chris could Astral Project so he was a bit shocked by the revelation. Chris then whispered two words that surprised Wyatt even more. "Play along."

Wyatt's eyes widened as he realized the meaning behind those words along with the look he had seen in the projection's eyes. It was Chris. The Chris he had saved in the past. He had survived the merge. He nodded imperceptibly and then punched out with a glancing blow that looked painful but wouldn't be.

Chris took the punch and then threw Wyatt off with a soft kick to the stomach. He wasn't about to seriously injure his brother to keep up the ruse, but it still had to look good. He was on his feet and had shoved Wyatt into the wall pinning him with his forearm just below his throat. He leaned in and spoke softly so just Wyatt would hear. "Orb out and I'll meet you at the Manor tonight," he whispered as Wyatt tried unsuccessfully to counter the hold he had him in.

Wyatt hated to think of just giving in. Giving in wasn't a Halliwell trait but this was more important than his ego, so with that he shoved Chris back and quickly orbed away.

"Damn," Chris muttered loudly as he allowed the projection to remerge with its body.

_"What a damn coward," Chris thought inwardly. "He had so much more fight in him in my other timeline."_

_Dark Chris was being very quiet but finally asked what was bothering him. "Why did you project?"  
_

_Chris had expected the question and was ready for it. "Do you think I wanted to risk injuring my body?" he scoffed as if it was obvious. "And besides, I was dying to try that new power."_

"_Hmmph! I was hoping for a better show. Maybe a more final ending than that," Dark Chris suggested and Chris knew exactly what he was meaning._

"_You know, I could have easily finished him off but what if…" he paused dramatically hoping to hook the dark creature._

"_What if what?" he took the bait._

"_The opportunity for evil is there. He was evil in my other timeline and he would make a dangerous ally, if he could be turned," he suggested hesitantly._

_Dark Chris snorted in derision. "You want to try to turn the Charmed Brat. Have you lost your mind?"_

"_It wouldn't be the first time he's turned and imagine what it would do to the Charmed Ones to see their precious child as evil." Chris knew it was a tempting idea. To control the child of a Charmed One._

"_Could we control him? You said he ruled you before." Dark Chris just wasn't sure it was worth the effort and he certainly didn't want to risk being controlled himself. _

"_As The Source I'd be ashamed if we couldn't," Chris said confidently. _

_Dark Chris smiled inwardly at that. What an achievement it would be to control that powerful a being. There would never be any doubt as to the power he possessed and no other demon would even consider defying him. It might just work at that.

* * *

_

Wyatt whooped in glee as he orbed back into the attic of the Manor. He noticed that all three sisters were there waiting for him. He gave them a huge smile that was unmistakably one of triumph.

"That I'd say is a good sign," Came Paige's sarcastic quip.

Piper stood noticing something and walked over to her oldest son. "Wyatt, you're bleeding." She reached out and touched the corner of his mouth that was split and bleeding slightly.

"Someone really needs to teach Chris how to pull his punches better," he answered her grinning all the while.

This comment seemed to confuse the sisters even more. How could fighting be a good thing? "If you two fought why are you grinning like the cat that ate the canary?" Phoebe asked joining her sister where she stood. Paige also stood and came up next to Piper.

"Because it's really Chris. The Chris from the past, not that dark creature our Chris became." Wyatt answered happily.

"But if it's Chris why did you two fight?" Paige asked in confusion.

"Well it was both of them sort of. The Chris from our timeline was watching from his body while the other one was fighting me as an Astral Projection," Wyatt explained realizing that his words still wouldn't answer their question. He afterall was still fighting with the Chris that was supposed to be their ally.

"Hmm, looks like my boy has a new power but still that doesn't explain why Chris was fighting you. He's supposed to be on our side," Piper said scowling slightly. After the talk she'd had with Wyatt before she had started to worry about whether or not Chris was going to be able to withstand the power of The Source. Power was very seductive, wasn't it? The Wyatt from Chris' original timeline was a perfect example of how power corrupted and she had become to fear for her second son's soul just as much as she had once feared Wyatt's.

Wyatt could see the doubt in his mother's eyes but after confronting Chris he was almost positive that his brother was still on their side. "Don't worry, Mom. He was just playing along, trying to gain the trust of this timeline's Chris. He said he'd meet me here at the Manor later tonight."

"But his other self?" Paige asked in concern.

"Astral Projection. Prue used to project anywhere she wanted to go," Phoebe pointed out. "He'll just leave him behind in his body. This is such a lucky break."

* * *

Things were going much better than he had hoped for. His darker self was warming up nicely and he had even managed to halfway convince him not to kill Wyatt on sight. That was one heck of an accomplishment. Now he just had to wait until his dark version fell asleep and then he'd be able to make contact with his family. It was something that Chris needed more than he was willing to admit. The time he had spent with just the company of his darker self was beginning to wear on his soul. Even though he was used to pretending to be something he was not, it was much harder to pretend to be evil than any of the false impressions he had adopted while in the past. If he were completely honest with himself he'd have to admit that the possibility of being consumed by the evil inside himself was frightening the hell out of him. He needed the love of his family to reassure himself that he had the courage to fight it.

Time seemed to tick by slowly as he went through the rest of his day only half paying attention to the tasks his darker self was seeing too. At times though certain conversations with upper level demons would catch his attention and he'd listen intently. One of those conversations had just occurred.

_"What deadline were you talking about?" he asked curiously._

_"That's right. I didn't tell you about that yet. I've got a surprise planned for the Valkyries," Dark Chris said smiling to himself. It was easy to hear the glee in those words._

_"Oh, what might that be?" Chris asked trying to sound only slightly curious even though the mention of the Valkyries did pique his interest._

_"Let's just say that the time for the final battle is a lot closer at hand then they might think." If Chris hadn't been seriously concentrating on trying not to react his mouth would have dropped open in surprise. Could his darker self be serious about that? The final battle between good and evil was not something to joke about. The outcome of that battle would shape the world into either a utopia or hell on earth._

_"How is that possible? I didn't think the battle was supposed to happen for a long time to come," he asked in as emotionless a tone as possible._

_"Let's just say, I'm pushing it up some. It seems that one of my minions is very close to finding out the location of the Valkyries hidden island. I do believe that a preemptive strike is in order." The gloating quality in his voice made Chris want to be sick. If the forces of evil destroyed the Valkyries and their warriors who would be left to defend the innocents? He knew what that meant. His family would have to face an entire underworld united under one malicious ruler, Him._

_He couldn't suppress the amount of shock that thought brought to him. When he had started this mission his intention was to just save himself, but yet again he was now finding himself on a path to save his family and the entire world. Not at all what he had bargained for. But what other choice did he have?_

_"I can see that you realize the implications of my plan," Dark Chris commented thinking he had thrown his other self into a state of euphoric disbelief. "We shall rule a world of darkness, my friend."_

_It was all Chris could do not to flinch at the word 'friend' as he managed a quiet. "So we shall."

* * *

_

_A/N: We all knew that Chris would have to save the world again, didn't we? It isn't like just saving himself would be enough. I also realize that some of you are gonna say, "hey astral projection doesn't work that way." Yes I do realize that, but considering the fact that Chris has two separate consciousnesses in the same body, I am manipulating the power a little to fit the situation. Just go with it. And also again, with the whole battle of good vs. evil I am putting forth my interpretation of what I think would be the outcome if either side won. I know some people think that life would be completely over afterwards but that's just their theory. Mine is as stated above. Utopia or Hell on Earth._


	13. Please No!

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 13 Please No!**

Piper sat nervously peering at the clock as she and Wyatt waited expectantly for Chris to arrive. Paige and Phoebe had long since gone home to their own families knowing that if Chris was able to come he and his immediate family would need time to discuss things that had not been revealed yet. They had all agreed that it was probably for the best that Chris not know what had happened to Leo as long as he and Wyatt were still in the past. That would have just been a distraction that they didn't believe they could afford at the time. But sooner or later with Chris in this timeline he would find out, one way or another, and none of them wanted it to be a complete surprise to him. That might cause too much stress in an already stressful situation.

"I wonder why it's taking so long?" Wyatt asked staring at the clock himself as he paced up and down the attic floor stepping every so often on the infamous board that always squeaked. Normally the sound did not bother him but in his state of worry it was becoming all too annoying. "We really should fix that, you know."

Piper's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Not that, Wyatt. You never know when it might come in handy while living with sons that have a penchant for time travel."

Wyatt just rolled his eyes and again turned away to walk to the far end of the attic but stopped in his tracks as a form materialized in front of him.

Piper was on her feet and next to Wyatt within seconds with her hands up in a defensive posture. They both stared at their wayward family member taking in his appearance. He was completely dressed in black and his hair was slightly longer than what they were used to but those crystal green eyes were so familiar from another time. "Chris?" Piper asked hesitantly.

Within seconds Chris had crossed the space between them and grabbed his mother holding her as tight as he dared. Her hands for a moment stayed spread out to the sides still in a defensive position but then as she realized what he was doing she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight.

"God, I missed you, Mom. I know it's only been a few days for me but…" He didn't continue the statement as he just allowed himself to enjoy the warmth of his mother's embrace.

Piper pulled back slightly so she could look into his eyes, just to be sure. Old habits of distrust often died hard. She could see the sparkle of unshed tears they held and she reached up to run one hand along his cheek and he instinctively turned his face into her hand enjoying the feel of her soft fingers. Yes that was her Chris. The Chris that she had learned to love in the past and still to this day made pulled at her heartstrings with just a glance of those overly bright crystal green eyes. "It's been so many years, Chris," she whispered remembering the night she had stood in that very attic and read the letter from her son explaining why he had to leave. The words he had said to her in that letter had haunted her for so very long now. He had apologized for hurting her when he lied to them in the past and she had never even realized that he felt that way. That it hurt so much for him to imagine the pain he had caused her with is dishonesty. "You didn't do anything wrong, baby." She knew she had to tell him; to explain away his fears and worries from what she considered so long ago but to him was only a short while before. She could see the confusion in his eyes though at that statement. "You never gave me the chance to tell you. I understood why you did the things you did in the past and I know you did what had to be done. I just wanted you to know that I forgave you a long time ago."

Chris remembered then and he gave her a halfway lopsided grin. He mused at how strange it was the things that stuck in a person's mind over the years. His mother's first instinct after not seeing him for twenty some odd years was to allay his guilt over something that was ancient history to her. "You always were quick to forgive us no matter what."

Piper knew he was referring to his original timeline, the one that she had not been able to be apart of this time around and in a way that thought ripped at her heart. She had missed so much with him. She knew if she looked at him for much longer she would start to cry and that was not something that would help either of them, so instead she hugged him close again burying her face in his chest.

Chris too late realized what that statement must have meant to his mother. "I'm sorry, Mom. I forgot for a minute. You just look so much like the mom that I lost in my timeline. Seeing you here like this brings back a lot of memories for me."

Piper pulled away but held onto one of his hands as she wiped a few tears away that had managed to escape down her cheeks no matter how hard she had tried to stop them. "Its okay, sweetie. If we get this right I'll get to be that mom anyway. And one way or the other we will get this right."

Chris took that as his queue to get back to the business at hand and turned to face Wyatt. He noticed how his brother's lip was slightly swollen from the punch he had given him earlier. He grimaced slightly at the sight and gave him a small smile. "Sorry 'bout the lip, bro."

Wyatt grunted slightly and shook his head in dismissal of the apology. "You are a much better fighter than your counterpart in this time, kiddo."

"Yeah, it was all I could do to keep Bianca from whipping our collective butts too," he admitted.

Piper's eyes widened at the mention of the assassin that had nearly cost her son his life in his other timeline. He had never really told them exactly what had happened to her, but she had a feeling it wasn't anything good for the Phoenix. "Is he involved with her?"

"Who's Bianca?" Wyatt asked in confusion.

Chris hadn't thought about the fact that this Wyatt would have never met her. "She was my fiancé in the other timeline. But no, he's not involved with her this time around. I have a feeling if I hadn't been there either she or he would have been dead before it was over with. He's nothing like I was. There's no way she'd fall for him."

"Okay wait. You were engaged to someone who is ready to kill this timeline's version of you. Why were you engaged to a killer?" Wyatt knew there was so much that his family hadn't told him about Chris' original timeline and he felt as if he was falling behind somehow.

"Okay, we really don't have time for a long discussion about this, but Bianca is a Phoenix. She's part of a clan of assassin witches. And before you freak out, Wy, she is a good person. She died for me…" His voice stalled on that and he couldn't believe he had actually said those words. He hadn't been able to say them before. It had just been too painful before, but seeing her alive in this timeline had given him hope that maybe she would survive again if they could only change things and just maybe they'd have a chance to be together again.

Wyatt just nodded hearing the passion in his brother's voice. He wouldn't argue with him. He trusted his brother's judgment. "All right. Back to why we are here. What have you learned from your other self? Do you know who took him?"

Chris shook his head frowning. "That is one secret that he is very protective of. And it's not just the fact that he doesn't trust me yet either. I think I'm slowly gaining his trust. But it seems as if that secret might be a little painful for him."

"Well being kidnapped isn't exactly what I'd call a fond memory," Piper commented angrily. It was driving her mad being so angry with a person or demon that she couldn't even put a name or a face to.

Chris thought about that statement and it cleared a few things up for him. "You two really don't know, do you?" They both looked at him in confusion and he continued. "He doesn't know who he is or that he was taken. He's lived his whole life thinking he was a demon."

"What?" Piper felt as if she might be sick at those words. They had always assumed that he knew who he was but that being possessed by The Source had warped his sense of reality.

"Honestly. I thought he was gonna have me exercised when I told him he was born a witch." Chris had to admit to himself that he had been slightly mad at his brother for not warning him about that fact but now that he knew that they were just as much in the dark as his alternate self he couldn't hold it against him.

"Did you tell him about us?" Wyatt asked quietly. A lot of things made more sense now. He had fought his brother on many occasions but neither of them had mentioned family ties. Wyatt hadn't done so because part of him was completely disgusted by what his brother had become and shamefully he hadn't wanted to admit to the family tie that was between them. He had just assumed that the darker version of his brother had felt the same way. But when they had faced off earlier that day nothing had seemed to change. He still wanted him dead.

"No, I thought that would be too much, too soon. I'm just now getting him to the point where he's opening up to me. And that brings me to something that I learned today that is very disturbing." He knew he'd have to tell them. Before they weren't really working on a time frame, but now that Dark Chris was so close to discovering the island of the Valkyries they'd have to move faster.

"More disturbing. Oh my. Maybe I should sit down for this," Piper suggested as she pulled her hand from her son's and turned to sit back on the couch. She wasn't so sure how much more of this she could take. Not only was her son evil, but he didn't even know he was her son, and now there was something even worse. How could anything be worse than that?

Chris and Wyatt followed her and Wyatt had a seat next to his mother and waited for his brother to speak. Chris on the other hand had too much pent up nervous energy to sit down, so instead he paced in front of them. "Sorry to break this to you, but it seems my other self strives to achieve even more destruction than the Wyatt of my time did."

Piper gave him a look that said she just couldn't believe it. "But you said that Wyatt destroyed most of the city and ruled with an iron fist in your timeline."

Wyatt flinched slightly but did not comment. He knew about the things his alternate self had done and he had to get used to it being spoken about. Nothing was gonna change the memories that his brother carried around of that other version of himself.

"He's trying to bring about the final battle," Chris said stopping in front of them but he didn't look up at his mother, not wanting to see the horror on her face.

"Wait, the final battle? You mean the battle between all good and evil?" Piper couldn't keep the surprise from her voice. Never had she dreamed.

"Yes and he's going to lead evil right to the Valkyries' doorstep if we don't stop him first." He looked up then, knowing he couldn't avoid the looks on their faces forever. "He almost has the coordinates of the hidden island."

"Oh my god. If he attacks it will be a bloodbath won't it?" Piper reached up covering her mouth in shock.

"At the rate he's recruiting demons, I'm afraid so," he answered her sadly. "The Valkyries aren't ready for him yet. The battle isn't supposed to happen until a time far in the future. Dad learned that when he was their prisoner." After that statement Chris looked around though with a surprised expression. "Where is Dad?"

He had truly expected his father to be there to meet him in this timeline. Part of him had feared that he wouldn't. That same old fear from his past of a father that wouldn't ever be there for him but still Leo had promised not to do that to him again.

Wyatt looked to his mother and the shared the same look that made Chris worry even more. They were hiding something. "What?" He knew he'd have to accept whatever they said but he felt a tight feeling start to grip his chest, knowing whatever it was he wouldn't like it.

"We don't know where your father is, Chris," Piper answered looking down to her hands. "He disappeared about a year ago."

The color completely drained from his face and he felt icy cold strands of anxiety running up his spine chilling him to the bone. "Disappeared."

"We think that your other self is holding him captive somewhere, but I couldn't get a straight answer from him concerning it. He said he was keeping him as a pet but that was nearly a year ago." Wyatt admitted but he knew he had to be completely truthful with his brother. "We don't even really know if he's alive. The other Elders he was with at the time are all dead and I really can't see why he'd keep him alive if he doesn't even know who he really is. I mean if Dad was alive wouldn't he have broken that news to him by now?"

It was as if a he had struck Chris with a physical blow and he could feel it as his knees started to buckle beneath him. Maybe he should have been the one to take a seat he decided as he slumped to the floor. Wyatt had just managed to reach out and grab him, slowing his descent, but Chris barely noticed as he stared blankly before him. Had he really killed his own father? Was it possible? "No," he whispered hoarsely. Somehow he had to believe that something had held his darker self back from doing that one thing. Sure he didn't know that Leo was his father but wasn't there a link between them anyway; something that would have stopped him from striking the killing blow? "I'll find out," he vowed more to himself than the others. He had to know.

"Chris, please don't do that to yourself. Just find out the information we need to save you and it will all change. You'll never have to know." Piper was so frightened of what that knowledge might do to her son. He and his father had formed such a tight bond in the past and to see that bond unravel and Chris come apart over something he had no control over… it was just too much for any of them to bear. She reached out and touched her son's cheek wanting to offer him just a little bit more comfort with that touch.

But Chris would have none of that. He pulled away feeling as if he was too disgusting and dirty for her to touch. If he had done that… if his darker self had stooped so low… not even Evil Wyatt had stooped low enough to kill his own parents. "I'm sorry, Mom. I have to know." With that he stood and backed away from her. He turned then and walked to the center of the attic not looking back at them. "When I have news I'll contact you, Wy," he called and then faded out into nothing.

"Oh, Chris," Piper said a sob being ripped from her throat as she finally let the tears go and broke down in her other son's arms.

Wyatt held his mother and stared where his brother had just stood. Even though he hated to see his brother in so much pain he understood how he felt. If he was in that position wouldn't he feel the same way?

* * *

Chris appeared in the now familiar bedchamber and let his eyesight adjust to the darkness. His darker self was still sound asleep on the bed covered in black satin sheets and he looked so peaceful. For the life of him he wanted so badly to reach out and wrap his hands around the sleeping form's throat choking the life from him. But at that moment suicide wasn't an option and that most certainly be the outcome.

So instead he let his form sink to the cavern floor next to the wall and thought of what he had learned. Did that dark creature kill his father? Could it be possible? And if he had what did that make him? Was he capable somewhere deep down inside of murdering his own father? Wouldn't it prove that he was? _Please no_, he thought bitterly to himself. He had always considered himself to be a decent, caring person, a good person. But if he had done that… if he was capable of that… how good a person could he really be? And even if he were able to change his past so that none of this had ever happened and his father was alive, what difference would it really make. Somewhere deep inside would he still have the capability to kill someone he loved? Tears had started to flow slowly down his cheeks as he whispered into the darkness. "I'm sorry, Dad. I really do love you." With that his head sunk down to his knees, which he had pulled up to his chest. He wasn't ready or willing to merge with his body yet. The idea of being near that disgusting thing made him want to be violently ill and he decided to hold off as long as he could to stay away from the vile creature he had become.

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_A/N: Well can we say "Poor Chris!" any louder? So did he kill his dad or not? We shall find out soon._


	14. Discovering the Demon

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Well I had a small bout of writers block on this story so I didn't get anything written on it for a bit but I managed to get over it and work through it and now have another chapter for you. I hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter 14 - Discovering the Demon**

Chris had sat most of the night thinking through the things his mother and brother had told him. Nothing had prepared him for the news. Nothing could have. To be told that you might be responsible for the death of your own father was so much more than most people could bear, including Chris. And it wasn't just the fact that Leo was his father that was bothering him. This Leo was the one that he had helped to mold in the past. The man who had truly treated him as a son, unlike the one he had grown up with. This Leo was the same man who had been there for him when he lay dying after being stabbed by Gideon. The man who had truly loved him as a father should. Even if he wasn't the darker evil version of himself that had done such a horrible thing, wasn't Chris still somehow responsible? Hadn't he changed the past and in doing so had created this present hell for himself and those he loved?

But he knew he was getting ahead of himself. He knew that he had to try to keep hope in his heart. There was always the chance that Leo still lived. His darker self had mentioned that they had other prisoners that could orb in other parts of his underworld lair. It took all the self-control that Chris possessed not to go searching for those caverns as the early hours of morning crept by. Even though his heart was pleading for him to go find his lost father, his more logical brain knew that it was too risky. If Dark Chris found him snooping around it could set him back further than he could ever afford in his attempts to garner the dark beings trust. And with the balance of good and evil at stake he knew he couldn't risk that no matter how much pain he felt because of it. And he did feel pain. He knew physically it was impossible to feel anything as an astral projection but somehow he still felt as if a vice like grip had a hold of his heart. He knew it shouldn't be possible to feel that way but emotions could cause a person to imagine all sorts of pain he realized.

So he waited and bid his time, but he vowed that he would somehow find his father before the day was through. For he knew if he didn't he just wasn't sure how long he could withstand the way he was feeling.

Once he noticed that his counterpart was beginning to stir he let the projection again merge with the body. And to Chris' surprise the overwhelming sense of evil that he had come to associate with the Source seemed even stronger and it was almost more than he could stand to be able to slam down his defenses again. He had to admit that either the Source was becoming stronger inside his darker counterpart or his own resolve to withstand it was beginning to crumble. That wasn't exactly a possibility that he wished to dwell upon but it was very possible. But no matter how hard he tried he knew he couldn't fight the merge forever.

For a long time after his darker self was fully awake they did not speak. Chris could feel that his counterpart was in quite the good mood, which made Chris feel even worse but he just couldn't force any words around the imaginary lump he felt in his throat.

_But eventually once they had gone through their morning routine of cleaning up and looking presentable Dark Chris decided to address the voice within his mind as they made their way out into the underworld passages. "Sleep well, my friend?"_

_Chris wanted to scream obscenities at the evil being but held his tongue. "As well as you," he answered calmly._

"_Good. We have a lot of work to do today." Dark Chris said and Chris could hear the excitement in his voice._

"_Oh, and what might that be?" Chris couldn't help the sarcastic edge that colored his voice._

_But his counterpart did not seem to notice the sarcasm at all. "Ah see, you have given me quite a lot to think of and I am thinking that we might just have a way to get the Charmed Brat on our side."_

_Chris hadn't really thought much past his attempt to keep his brother safe, and certainly had not imagined them actually trying to turn Wyatt so his counterpart's word were shocking to say the least but he attempted to control his reaction and sound as if the idea meant very little to him. "Oh, and how exactly might we do that?"_

"_That, my friend, is a secret. One you will have to wait to find the answer to but I do think you will enjoy it just as much as I." Chris could hear the playful gloating in his mind and realized that he might truly be getting through to his darker self. His words sounded almost conspiratorial, as if he had his complete confidence. This could actually be the break he was searching for._

"_Do you mind if I ask you a question?" he asked carefully. He knew he'd have to beat around the bush some. His dark self wouldn't be quite ready to just jump into his most well kept secret._

"_You can ask," he answered with his mind only half on the conversation as he made his way through the caverns that Chris was already familiar with._

_Chris realized that the statement did not guarantee him an answer to his question, but he would still have to try. "How exactly did we become the Source in this timeline?"_

_Dark Chris paused in his inspection of a group of swam demons that were attempting to self-duplicate without causing harm to them selves. Chris noticed that the attempt wasn't going so well and was very tempted to help them along slightly with a well-placed fireball. But he refrained as he awaited his answer. "That was something I __**had**__ to do," Dark Chris finally answered but Chris could hear something in his voice that surprised him. Was that regret? Surely not. Chris waited quietly hoping his darker self would continue. "When you are being controlled by the strongest demon in existence, the only way to defeat that is to become an even stronger demon. And isn't the Source the strongest form of pure evil that ever existed?"_

_But which demon would be considered to be the strongest demon to ever exist? Chris needed more information, so he decided to attempt a few words. "I'm assuming this strongest demon is the demon that raised you."_

_Dark Chris growled slightly at that. The reminder that he was not born a demon was not necessarily something he wanted to hear. "Yes, Zankou did raise me, but I'm still not sure how much of your story I really believe, so don't push it."_

_There it was. The name Chris needed. His ticket to stopping all of this from happening. But he'd never heard of this Zankoo, had he? "And this Zankou is really that powerful?"_

"_He was, until I took in the spirit of the Source. You see Zankou remained trapped for centuries and I learned that he had been trapped by the original Source. But he was freed for the express purpose of defeating the Avatars, which ironically he did with the help of the Charmed Ones. Then in turn he tried to defeat them also. Unfortunately he failed when he tried. But you see they also failed because they thought they had vanquished him. But they hadn't. He told me the story many times. I was very young when it happened though. So I don't remember it myself." Chris listened intently to the story and began to have a sneaking suspicion that made him want to cringe. He did remember the name Zankou after all from his original timeline. The sisters had faced him not too long after they got Wyatt back from the underworld and it was the most difficult fight they'd ever experienced. It had even caused them to go into hiding for several months. It had also nearly cost them their lives and now come to find out Zankou had survived. It was a hard blow to take._

_But there was something else about Zankou that Chris felt he should remember but he couldn't put his finger on it. "So how did you defeat him?" Chris asked hesitantly almost afraid of the answer._

"_I did the same thing the original Source did. I trapped him," Dark Chris answered as if it should be obvious._

"_You mean you didn't vanquish him?" Chris couldn't believe that Zankou was actually still alive out there somehow, always a threat looming in on his family. This was getting worse and worse with each piece of information he learned._

"_Honestly, I'm not sure if there is any power alive today that could defeat him," Dark Chris admitted nonchalantly._

_But Chris had heard something in his voice. Was it reluctance? But why would a being with little or no emotions be reluctant to kill the demon who had dominated him his entire life? Unless Dark Chris did suffer from bouts of emotion. Did he somehow care for the demon after all this time? Like he would a father possibly? Chris didn't want to admit it but it did make sense. Dark Chris wasn't born evil and he could have still felt emotional attachments towards the demon that raised him couldn't he?_

_Chris was so lost in thought over this new idea that he hadn't noticed when his darker self took him into a part of his underground lair that he hadn't seen yet. But he did take notice when his darker self began to speak again. "This is it. Our final weapon to use against the Charmed Brat."_

_Chris stared forward and noticed that the area of the underground that they had been taken to was darker and damper than any other part they had been in thus far and the air around him seemed colder. But what truly caught his eye were the barred cells that were built into the very walls and each cell had red crystals lining the twelve-foot ceilings and each of the crystals glowed like fire. Chris had only seen anti-orbing crystals once before in his life. They were a demonic tool that was often very hard to come by but apparently Dark Chris had managed to horde quite a few of them. _

_Then Chris' eyes were drawn to the farthest cell, which at the moment was the only one occupied. His heart caught at the sight of a man sitting against the cell bars with his back to them. His cloths were tattered and smeared with filth and his sandy blonde curls were matted with dirt and sweat. He had his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms resting across them and his forehead resting on the arms. Chris wanted to scream his name. Even though he could not see him completely there was no doubt in his mind that that mistreated and weary figure was none other than his father. But he stilled himself knowing that anything he might say could ruin everything he had worked so hard for._

_So instead he talked internally to his darker self. "Who is he?"_

"_I didn't know what I had at first when I imprisoned him. But it didn't take me long to figure out that he was the Charmed Brat's father. But he sure is a curious fellow," Dark Chris hadn't even bothered to speak out loud to the prisoner yet and Chris found this quite a strange thing. Surely his father knew his captor was there. _

"_Curious how?" Chris finally asked not sure what to think of that statement._

"_He saved me and in doing so betrayed his own kind. See he's an Elder and somehow they managed to discover my underground home here. They even had me trapped in a crystal cage and he was arguing with the others. They wanted to kill me but he absolutely refused. Finally they decided to attempt it without him. For a time there I actually feared that I'd be vanquished. But he stopped them and killed the one that was leading them. Not long after my demons arrived and we made quick work out of the rest of them, but for his actions I spared him." With every word Chris felt his heart breaking more and more. His father had even loved the darker version of him enough to kill one of his fellow Elders, someone who had possibly been his friend. He sacrificed everything he was and everything he believed in for the love of a son who would go on to imprison him and might never return his love in kind. _

"_Did he give you a reason why he saved you?" Chris asked hoping his voice did not sound husky with emotion._

"_No, actually he hasn't said a word since the day it happened. I've tried everything to get through to him but he just sits there like that as if he was nothing more than an empty shell of a being." With those words Chris couldn't help the burst of utter despair he felt. No, he hadn't killed his father and for that he was grateful but instead he had sentenced him to a life of self-loathing and complete silence over the actions he had been forced to perform to save his son. Chris had never imagined that he would see the day that his father was a broken man, but there he was and it was Chris himself that had done this to him._

"_What was that?" Dark Chris asked feeling the sudden surge of emotions._

_Chris tried hard to slam his barrier back down but the heartache he was feeling threatened to burst through that barrier to encompass his entire body. He knew he'd have to somehow explain his emotions to his darker self, but exactly how could he? He thought for a moment, as Dark Chris waited not so patiently for his answer then the solution came to his mind. "I knew him," he thought slowly trying to project as little emotion into the word as he could._

_He could sense his darker self's confusion over the statement and then went on. "Remember, I went back in time to change things. I had to get in good with the Charmed Brat's family to be able to change events."_

"_That's right. Hard to imagine that I actually knew them at one time," Dark Chris said shivering at the thought. _

"_It's probably also why he tried to save you. To him I was a person from the future that helped him save his son from turning evil. He never knew my true intentions. He probably felt he owed it to you," Chris lied effectively._

"_Ah, that makes sense. It's a mystery that has been plaguing me for a year now. But you seemed almost sad when you saw him," his darker self questioned._

_Chris was worried about his next statement. If he took it wrong it could be the end of the game, but what else could he say? "I have to admit the old man was interesting to be around. He sure kept me on my toes. You see, he didn't really trust me most of the time I was in the past and it was quite a challenge to keep a step ahead of him. But in the end I would have never made it back to my time without the potion he created. It just seems sort of sad that he had to end up this way. He was always the most interesting of opponents and I rather enjoyed our game of cat and mouse."_

_Dark Chris considered those words and then nodded accepting them without much argument. "What you say we try to rouse his attention?"_

Before Chris could stop him his darker self had bent next to the cell bars and begun to speak out loud. "Hey old man. I saw your son yesterday." There was no reaction from Leo to the statement and Chris cringed at the malice he heard from his own voice. "Nothing to say?"

_Leo still made no effort to communicate and Chris just couldn't handle the pain he knew it must be causing his father if his father was even aware of anything at all. "Let's just leave him be. He's obviously not gonna speak to us."_

"_Wait, I have one more thing to tell him," Dark Chris thought with an evil smile coming to his face._

"Old man, I know you can hear me and I've decided to attempt something. You'll be seeing your son again very soon, because I'm gonna use you against him and when he's ready I'll turn him to my side." This statement actually did bring Leo's head up off his knees but still he made no sound as he looked straight forward.

Chris wanted to scream at the rotten bastard to leave his father alone but of course that was impossible but still he was hoping and praying that they would just leave him be until he could come up with a plan to fix everything.

"Ta, ta, for now. We'll be seeing you again soon," Dark Chris said maliciously and then shimmered them back to another part of the underground.

"My wasn't that fun? But it will be even more fun when we start using him against his son." Chris could hear the glee in his darker self's voice and he wanted to run from it. To run from everything he was doing to those he loved, but he knew he had to stick to what needed to be done. So for the rest of the day he remained mostly silent as they continued to check the progress of his minions and their impending war on the Valkyries. But the entire time Chris was planning and scheming forming a plan in his mind that would save everyone that he loved.

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_A/N: Well that's the end of that chapter. I know, surprisingly not a real cliffhanger. But next chapter starts the real excitement, so everyone hold on and I'll update as soon as I can._


	15. You Didn't Leave Me

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended

**A/N:** Yes, I know. I updated. I know it's been a couple of months and I realize that it is horrible and unforgivable. What excuse can I give? None really. But I have not abandoned this fic. I promise. And to prove it I come bearing the next chapter. I hope everyone enjoys and I promise unless all hell breaks loose in my life, I will not go this long without updating again.

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**Chapter 15 You Didn't Leave Me**

Late that night after Dark Chris had went to sleep Chris found himself unable to rest whatsoever. He had learned so much and faced even more that day. His father was alive, but a broken man. Broken by the darker Chris and what he had been forced to do to protect a son that could care less for him. His feelings of guilt and self-loathing were so hard to take but he knew he'd have to face them and get past them if he was ever to save his father and the rest of the world he loved.

And Zankou, my god! He was the strongest Demon imaginable. Not even the power of the Charmed Ones had managed to destroy him. And he somehow expected Wyatt to do it. The Wyatt he had known from his other timeline, yes, without a doubt Chris knew he could have done it. He could have ripped Zankou to shreds without even thinking twice. But this Wyatt was different, so very different. Chris had noticed the uncertainty in this Wyatt. It was almost as if he lacked confidence in himself. Was that it? Had Chris not being there somehow affected Wyatt, stopped him from being the assertive older brother that Chris remembered? Possibly.

But what else could he do? He had to have faith in his family. They were all he had and he knew they wouldn't give up until he was safe again.

After he was positive that his darker self slept soundly he once again created a projection of himself possessing the form and shimmered his way into the Halliwell Manor. It was very late and the entire house was quiet, until he shimmered in and the demonic alarm system went off imprisoning him in a crystal cage and sending out a warning to the home's occupants.

Chris waited patiently for his mother and brother to come find him. At least the newer version of the alarm system only trapped him. There was once a time when that same system would have sensed him shimmer in and tried to destroy him. He had to guess that they had made the change in case his darker self decided to pay them a visit.

Wyatt orbed his mother into the attic and both of them froze at the sight of Chris just standing with his arms crossed waiting for them. "Do you mind deactivating this?" he asked casually seeing that they were too stunned to react quickly. "That is if you want to know what I learned."

"Sorry, Chris," Wyatt said walking over to the window and removing the crystal on the sill as he deactivated it's power.

With the alarm system dismantled, the cage disappeared and Piper stepped up to him. "After you left last night we weren't sure what to expect, or when you'd be back," she said nervously wanting so desperately to touch her youngest son, but not sure if he'd let her do so.

Chris nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry about last night. I know I seemed cold to you," Chris tried to explain.

"It's okay, baby. You were dealing with something pretty major. I don't blame you," Piper attempted to assure him reaching her hand out but stopping short of actually touching him.

Chris looked down to the hand that wavered in front of him. His mother had not deserved the cold attitude he had given her the night before. She only wanted to shield him from pain, as she always did. How could any son blame his mother for that? He reached out taking his mother's hand and squeezed it tight as he focused his eyes upon hers. "I blame myself for a lot, Mom. But that's just something I'll have to learn to live with. But for now I just want to try to fix some of it, and I think I can."

Wyatt had joined them where they stood. "Do you have news?" he asked worried about what Chris would have to say.

Chris knew that Wyatt was speaking of a lot more than just the name of the demon, which turned him. Whether he showed it or not, he was just as concerned for his father as Chris was. But he needed to tell them about Zankou first worried that he'd have to leave before he got the chance. There was no telling when his darker self would wake and notice him gone.

"The demon that took mini-me was Zankou," he stated knowing it would shock his mother to hear the name.

"What, no! We vanquished him," Piper said her eyes flashing in anger.

"Apparently that's what he wanted you to think," Chris explained hastily. "Look I don't know how much time I have with you. Wyatt, you have to go back to the past and warn them. Dad will know who Zankou is even if Mom and the Aunts haven't faced him yet."

Wyatt nodded understanding what he needed to do. He didn't know much about Zankou but he did realize that the demon was not just a pushover if he had managed to face the Charmed Ones and live to tell about it. But then he couldn't help asking. "What about Dad, Chris?"

Chris knew that Wyatt was speaking of their father from this timeline. It was obvious by the sadness he saw in his brother's eyes. "I saw him," Chris said his eyes gleaming with both pain and hope.

Piper could hardly believe her ears. "Your father?"

Chris nodded looking away for a moment. When he looked back tears shown in his eyes. "He's a prisoner."

Wyatt could see there had to be so much more to it than just that. "Is he okay?"

Chris shook his head and looked away guiltily. "No, no, he's not. Oh he's physically okay, but after what he's been through, mentally…"

"What happened, Chris?" Wyatt asked knowing he couldn't just ignore the pain his father was in.

"They were gonna kill the other me, the Elders that is. Dad had no choice. He killed one of them." Chris knew they'd understand what doing that must have done to his father. "He doesn't speak at all anymore."

"Oh god!" Piper cried covering her mouth as a sob threatened to leave her. "He must be devastated."

Chris turned away from them pulling his hand from his mother's. He didn't want to pull away from her again but he was already in enough pain concerning his father's fate and he just couldn't bear to look in her eyes as she thought of the man she loved being so tortured.

Piper looked at her youngest son's shoulders as they slumped in despair. "Chris, I'm sorry. I know this hurts you," she called stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his waist pulling him back to her wanting so much to take the guilt he felt away from him.

Chris didn't pull away from her letting himself feel the comfort she offered. "I'm gonna save him," he whispered the vow to the quiet room.

"We know you will, Chris. As soon as we figure out how to vanquish Zankou everything will be just fine. I have…" Piper began to say that she had faith in him but Chris cut her off turning around shaking his head.

"No, I'm not waiting that long. I can't stand to leave him there like that," Chris said the look on his face daring them to deny his idea.

Worry flashed through Piper's eyes as she saw the determination in her son's. "Chris, what are you saying?"

Chris knew it was irrational. That if they changed his past his father would never be put in that position but he couldn't just sit back and wait for them to fix every thing as he did nothing. And he couldn't leave his father in the horrible state he was in. He had to somehow let him know that everything he suffered wasn't for nothing. "I can't leave him where he is?"

"Chris, are you nuts? What if the other you finds out? What will he do?" Wyatt asked in fear that Chris was gonna blow everything right when they were closest to fixing it all.

"Well, most likely, he'll try to find some way to exorcise me or something, but that's a risk I'm willing to take," Chris answered knowing full well just how much his brother would go for that.

"Oh, is that all. Just a little exorcism among family is all," Wyatt bit out sarcastically. Chris just shrugged causing his brother to go on. "Chris, it shouldn't take us long to figure out how to fix this once I get back to the past. And once it's fixed everything will change. Dad will be safe and you will be good. All you have to do is sit back and wait for the change. You won't even remember ever being evil. Just like I don't remember it from your former timeline."

Chris swallowed hard. He knew what his brother said was true but he also knew one other thing. "Wyatt, I have faith in you and in the rest of the family. I know you will do everything possible to save me, but I also have to consider what happens if you somehow fail. I can't live with myself if I knowingly left Dad in that dungeon rotting, hating himself for any longer than I have to."

"Chris, honey, this is just too dangerous. I want to see your father again as much as anyone, more even! I miss my husband, but I can't risk you like this," Piper tried to plead with Chris through her own tears. She had moved forward and was gripping the front of his shirt unconsciously as if she could hold him back and keep him from leaving.

Chris looked down to her hands knotted in his shirt and sighed heavily. He reached out grasping them in his own and pulled them away from where they were. "Mom, I'm not a child anymore. I have to face up to what I've done."

Piper gave him an incredulous look. "Chris, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Didn't I? The changes I made in the past are what created this future and now everyone I love has to suffer for it." Chris knew that none of them would ever blame him for what he had become. They all loved him too much for that. But he did blame himself and would never try to back down from that.

Wyatt knew how his brother felt and could understand why he did but still... "Chris, was it any better before, in your original timeline?"

Chris shook his head fiercely. "No, no it was worse," he answered remembering the deaths of his mother and aunts. At least this time around they were alive.

"So, you made it better. We just aren't done with the job yet and none of us will give up until we are all happily living in this time and are all on the side of good. So don't beat yourself up over this so much." Wyatt hated to see his brother so wrapped up in guilt but he also understood how useless Chris must feel. While Wyatt returned to the past and he and the rest of the family worked to save him, Chris couldn't do anything and that thought had to be driving him crazy.

Chris knew that they both would do anything to take away all the pain and guilt he felt but it just wasn't that easy, but he'd have to at least let them believe that he would be safe as they tried to save him. "Fine. I'll try not to get myself killed. Does that make you two happy?" It wasn't a complete lie. He wasn't gonna purposely do anything to anger his other self. But he couldn't help it if something he did put him in harms way.

Piper stared up to him and wondered just how honest he was being. Even though she had forgiven him a long time before for the lies he told them, she still knew he was a very clever liar when he wanted to be, but he was right about one thing. He was a grown man and she'd have to let him go. "Just be careful," she whispered leaning up and placing a kiss on his cheek.

"I will, Mom," Chris answered hugging her tight to him.

"Well, I guess I better get ready for a trip," Wyatt said once his brother and mother had pulled apart.

"Good luck, Wy," Chris said giving his brother a confident look.

"You too, Chris," Wyatt answered back just before his brother shimmered away.

* * *

Instead of heading back to his underground lair Chris shimmered into the dungeon where his darker self had led him earlier that day. The cells were still all empty except for the very last one. He could see his father sitting in the same position he had been in when he had seen him earlier that day. Sitting on the cavern floor leaning back against the bars of his cell staring at the blank wall before him. 

Chris knew that if his father had kept any of his mental faculties at all he'd realize that Chris was there. He wasn't exactly sure how to go about approaching the Elder. He knew that his father would not have any of his Elder powers left. His darker self would have made sure to find a way to bind those before he ever stepped into a room alone with him. But how much of a shock would it be for Leo if Chris suddenly started calling him Dad after a year of making him suffer like he had.

So he made a decision that he hoped would not be the wrong one. He shimmered into the cell and kneeled rather slowly in front of the despondent Elder. He did not touch him yet, not at all sure how he would react to that. Had his darker version tortured him? Would he balk at the touch of his hand? Chris had no way of knowing. "Leo," he called hating the sound of that name in his ears. He had spent so many months in the past calling his father by his given name and now it hurt so much not to be able to call him Dad. "Can you hear me?"

There was no response from the man and Chris couldn't help but fear that he might never be able to get through to him again. "I know you can hear me. Please, just let me know you are still in there."

The sound of his voice did more to catch Leo's attention than his words. He hadn't heard his son's voice sound like that in twenty some odd years. His head rose and he stared into beautiful green eyes, that he knew the day before had been black as night. He blinked a few times in confusion and gave Chris a questioning look.

"Listen, I don't know what has happened to you in the last year, but please tell me you remember what happened twenty three years ago," Chris pleaded reaching out hesitantly and placed one hand on his father's knee, not able to stop himself from wanting some kind of physical contact with the man he had accepted as his father.

Leo flinched slightly but didn't pull back from the touch. His eyes squinted unsure of what he was seeing. "Chris?" his voice came out rough and quiet from disuse.

"Yes, Dad, it's me," he said sadly seeing how his father couldn't even dare to imagine he was real. "You were right about how time travel works."

Leo's eyes widened remembering the conversation he had had with his son so many years before on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. It only took him one second to grab out and pull his son into his arms as he desperately clung to the one thing he had wanted to see for so many years now, the one thing that had kept him going during the past year. After several seconds of holding onto his son Leo let him pull back and he stared into those eyes again. He couldn't believe how wonderful seeing all the love and adoration his son felt shining through those brilliant eyes, made him feel. He could also see the tears that had started to fall from his son's eyes and knew they were tears for him and the compassion that showed made his heart break. "Chris, I can't believe it's really you. I had hope that I'd see you again, but still… to have you here."

Chris could see how much his father still loved him and he couldn't help the tears that had started to poor from his eyes, but he knew he had many things to tell his father. "Well, I'm afraid this is only temporary for now. This isn't actually my body," he began to explain.

Leo frowned at that. "What's going on Chris? Earlier today, you were here and your were so hateful."

"Yeah that was the other version of me. I was there too inside his mind but I couldn't say anything to you. This is his astral projection," he said motioning to the body he now resided in.

A look of understanding flitted across Leo's face. "Oh, I see. But since when do you Astral Project?"

"Since this timeline, I guess. My powers must have progressed faster this time around. But I've figured out how to get away from my darker self for some time. It comes in handy, even though it's hard to merge back with him when it comes time." Chris was still very worried about the fact that the evil had nearly swamped him the last time he had returned to his body.

"So your other self is..?" Leo asked in concern.

"Asleep. I just left Mom and Wyatt. They know who turned me at least now. Wyatt's heading back in time as we speak," Chris explained hoping the news would give his father some hope.

"Zankou, I know," Leo said nodding.

"You know?" Chris asked in surprise.

"Your other self likes to talk a lot. He spends quite a lot of time down here bragging to me about his conquests over good," Leo answered remembering all the times he had stared into his son's black eyes and felt his soul becoming cold because of it.

"Dad, why didn't you tell him who he was?" Chris couldn't understand why his father would keep something so important to himself.

Leo looked away from Chris feeling guilty himself over his failure to help him. "I wanted to at first. But then he showed me what he was truly like. The monster he had become."

"What did he do to you?" Chris asked feeling a pain clutching his heart, imagining all the horrors his darker self could have visited on his father.

Leo didn't want to tell Chris what had happened but he knew his son would not just let it go. "He didn't do anything to me, Chris. But the things I saw him do. I'm sorry, I just couldn't tell him."

Chris sat back putting a few inches between he and his father. He understood exactly what his father was getting at and it hurt to hear it but he couldn't blame him. "You couldn't accept him as your son," he whispered quietly feeling the rejection almost as if it was his own.

Leo heard the pain those words accompanied in his son's voice and it brought his face up to look at him. "Chris, I'm sorry. I love you dearly. The you that I see before my eyes right now. But after everything I've seen in the past year, I just can't see that other dark creature as you."

"I understand, Dad. I don't blame you. Anyhow, let's get you out of here before he realizes I'm gone," Chris suggested reaching up and wiping the tears from his eyes as he stood.

Leo stayed where he was though and stared up to his son. "I can't leave."

"What?" Chris asked staring at his father as if he'd grown another head.

"If I disappear he'll become more suspicious. I can't risk him thinking you've done something to help me." Leo wasn't ready to risk his newly regained son even to save himself.

"Dad, I can't say what he might do to you in the near future. He wants to use you against Wyatt. I don't want to just leave you here," Chris tried to reason with him.

"Believe me, Chris. I don't want to be here but to keep your cover I have to stay." Leo tried to give his son an encouraging smile so he wouldn't worry about him.

Chris stared at him and shook his head. "You didn't leave me," he finally said remembering the day in the past when Leo had come for him in jail.

Leo was about to retort when they both felt a dark presence nearing and a form shimmered into the dungeons on the other side of the bars. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

Chris swallowed hard as he glanced at his darker self facing him on the other side of the bars.

The darker version of himself had a suspicious look plastered on his face as he walked closer to the bars. "Imagine my surprise when I woke to find my new subconscious no longer in my mind and out roaming about in my astral projection."

"I couldn't sleep," Chris said hoping the excuse didn't sound as lame as it really was. Truthfully he hadn't slept in nearly three days and was more tired than he could imagine, but that information would not have helped him at all.

"You know, I could have just pulled you back to my body, but I wondered just what you were up to. And what a strange sight this is. I find my other self commiserating with my most prized prisoner, who by the way has not spoken in a year, but now suddenly feels the urge to speak to you. Why exactly is that?" Dark Chris asked his voice adopting a very dangerous tone as he did.

* * *

_A/N: Okay, yes, yes, yes. I know that was the cliffhanger from hell, but sorry, you'll just have to deal with it. So how exactly will Chris get them out of this mess?_


	16. Seeking Proof

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** I was really worried that interest in this fic would have died out since I didn't update in forever, but I guess I was wrong. More people seem interested in it now than before. That is just awesome. Thanks everyone for continuing to read. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 16 Seeking Proof**

"_You know, I could have just pulled you back to my body, but I wondered just what you were up to. And what a strange sight this is. I find my other self commiserating with my most prized prisoner, who by the way has not spoken in a year, but now suddenly feels the urge to speak to you. Why exactly is that?" Dark Chris asked his voice adopting a very dangerous tone as he did._

Chris glanced down at his father, who had yet to move, and then back to his darker self. "I told you that I knew him in the past. I wanted to see if there was anything left of him. I guess he remembers me." Chris had to admit that the lie could have been better but with such short notice it was all he could come up with.

Leo glanced up at Chris and with an apologetic look in his eyes spoke up. "Yes, I remember, and if I'd known then what you really were, I'd have killed you and saved us a lot of misery." Dark Chris couldn't see that look in Leo's eyes but Chris could and even though the words were painful to hear he knew they were not true.

"Yeah well, too bad you weren't all that smart back then, now isn't it?" Chris asked playing along with the ruse then he strolled forward and through the bars that separated he and his darker self. "I'm done here, if you are ready to go," he said casually to the other version of himself.

His darker version was staring down at Leo and he shook his head coming to a decision. "If that is the case," his hand raised and a fireball formed in his palm. "Then maybe we shouldn't keep him around."

Chris' eyes widened in fear when he saw his darker self's intent and Leo hearing the flame crackle behind him just closed his eyes and lowered his head waiting for his fate. Chris hadn't wanted to believe that his darker version would really do this. It was something that he feared more than anything else he could imagine. But by the look in those obsidian eyes he knew… there was no doubt any more.

Chris' hand shot out and grasped his darker self's arm. "No!" he yelled with more than a little fear in his voice.

Dark Chris turned to face him fully and the look of suspicion on his features was plainly evident. "No?"

Chris licked his lips knowing that he had probably just sealed his own fate with that action, but there was no way he was going to stand back and watch his father die at his own hands, but still he had to try to salvage what he could. "Don't we still need him to turn the Halliwell brat?"

The flame on his hand extinguished as he watched the emotions on his other self's face. "Yes, I guess we do."

"Maybe we should start making plans then," Chris suggested motioning his darker self towards the opening of the cavern, wanting nothing more than to get him away from his father.

"I do believe that I need something from you first," Dark Chris suggested not moving from the spot.

Chris stared at him in confusion. What exactly was he asking for? "If you mean your astral projection… I can always merge with you again. It's just sort of convenient this way. At least I can look you in the face when we speak." _Not to mention the fact that I can hide my thoughts and emotions better this way_ Chris added silently to himself.

Dark Chris slowly shook his head. "Proof," he said giving the word added extra emphasis. "You have told me many things about myself that I never knew. I want to know that you are telling the truth."

Chris blanched and knew that he would be caught out. There was just no way that he could prove the things he had said short of opening his mind to him and he wasn't willing to do that. "You want proof?"

Dark Chris nodded and Chris looked down in thought and his eyes caught sight of his father who had turned ever so slightly so he could at least peer at Chris from the corner of his eye. That's when Chris decided. "Fine. If I can prove to you that you were born a witch instead of a demon, will you trust me?"

Dark Chris moved back slightly in shock. He hadn't expected that. He had expected a downright refusal from his alter self. "How are you gonna do that?" he asked in curiosity.

"Leo, do you remember that potion you made me twenty three years ago?" Chris asked knowing his father rarely forgot anything once he learned it.

Leo nodded, not sure where his son was going with that question.

"I need you to make me some more," Chris said looking back up to his darker self.

"Why?" both Leo and Dark Chris said at the same time. Dark Chris glared at the Elder in his cage and continued on. "Why do we need a potion?"

"You say you want proof that you were born a witch and were taken by a demon. What's better proof than seeing it for yourself?" Chris answered gambling on the off chance that the new plan forming in his mind would work.

Leo turned to Chris and he could see the fear in his father's eyes but he did not let it affect the stoic look on his face. He had to get his darker self away from his father, and he'd need help to keep him that way for long enough. So what was one more trip into the past? They could always come back right before Zankou showed up.

"And let's say I agree to this idea of yours. What's to say that he won't mess the potion up and cause us to go somewhere we don't want to go?" Dark Chris answered.

"If he wants to stay alive he has no choice now does he?" Chris answered. His voice sounded cold and unfeeling but Chris felt anything but, as fear for his father twisted his insides very painfully.

Dark Chris seemed to ponder that for a moment and then nodded several times. "Get him out of there. Looks like we need to brew a potion."

An hour later both versions of Chris and Leo were in a secluded chamber in the underworld and Leo was working on creating the time traveling potion that Chris had asked for. The darker version of his son was leaning against one of the chamber walls across the room watching he and the other Chris with eyes full of distrust. Chris was leaning against the table that Leo was working at and he was pretending to supervise the potion making process.

Leo had his back turned to the Dark Chris and he whispered quietly to his son. "Chris, what are you doing this for?"

Chris turned around and started fidgeting with the potion ingredients under the guise of verifying that Leo wasn't doing anything that might mess the potion up. He whispered an answer. "I need him out of the way until they can change things. But I'm not sure I can handle him by myself. He has more power than I ever dreamed of."

"So you are gonna take him to your family. Is that wise, Chris?" Leo hissed in concern.

"If anything can contain him for the time being, it's the Power of Three. Not to mention Wyatt and a full version of you, with all of his Elder powers intact. I'll bring him back before Zankou can show up," Chris explained.

"But why, Chris? Can't you just keep putting him off until Wyatt fixes this?" Leo asked not at all sure why he wouldn't just play it cool.

Chris didn't look up and didn't answer the question immediately. After a moment of trying to decide what to say he finally settled on the truth. "You didn't see his eyes. He really would have killed you."

Leo paused in what he was doing and he found it hard to block out the tears that threatened to swamp him. "I know that, Chris," he whispered, his voice slightly shaky. "You shouldn't have stopped him."

Chris' hands began to tremble as he fingered the ginger root he had just picked up. His father would have died to protect his secret. There was no doubt in his mind. But he could have never lived with himself if that had happened. "If you think I could have stood back and watched you die, then you don't know me at all."

Leo reached out taking the ginger root from his hand and let his fingers brush his son's hand trying to convey assurance through his touch. "I know you couldn't," he whispered, "but you can't blame a father for wanting to save his son."

Those words brought a smile to Chris' features, despite the dire situation they faced. "Thanks, Dad."

Dark Chris had been watching them but could not hear the whispered conversation. "What is it with you two?"

Chris and Leo both turned to face the dark presence and neither knew how to answer that.

"You act as thick as thieves. And I for one would never willingly befriend an Elder and especially not the father of the Charmed Brat," he growled angrily becoming more suspicious with each second.

"I told you I respected him in a way," Chris admitted. "I can't help it if I feel like I owe him something. I would still be stuck in the past if it wasn't for him."

"Well I don't respect anyone. And if you and I are gonna become one person eventually you are gonna have to get over that character flaw," Dark Chris said in a threatening manner.

Chris bit back the angry retort he wanted to say and just nodded. "Fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"Is that stuff about ready, Elder?" Dark Chris spat out angrily, beginning to wonder just how wise an idea this really was.

Leo had just added the last ingredient and was about to bottle up the potion. For a split second he considered ruining the potion to keep them from going through with Chris' plan. It was a dangerous one and Leo wasn't sure if he could support it. But one glance towards his son and he could see the determination in his eyes. Chris was the one risking the most with this stunt and he was doing it for his father. That had to count for something. "Yes, it's about ready," he called turning back to the potion and bottling the first bottle. "There's enough for three potions here. That gives you one to go back with and one to come back to our time and one extra just in case something goes wrong."

Dark Chris moved forward and stood right next to them. "How kind of you, but not really necessary since you are going with us."

Chris looked up in shock and began to argue with his Darker self but just as he opened his mouth to do so he felt a pulling sensation and was yanked roughly back into his body.

"_That was not part of the agreement," he complained noisily inside his own mind._

"_Shut up, if you don't want me to kill him, that is," Dark Chris countered back._

Chris immediately slammed his mind shut, not willing to risk his father's life.

"How does this work?" Dark Chris asked Leo picking up one of the potion vials on the worktable.

Leo stared at the darker version of his son and shook his head. Things were not going as they were supposed to at all. "What if I refuse to help you?" he asked looking at the dark being defiantly.

"You like the other version of me don't you?" Dark Chris asked knowing that something was between the two of them; otherwise his prisoner would still be a broken soul back in his dungeon.

Leo did not answer as he waited for an answer to his question.

Dark Chris smirked knowing he had hit on something there. "Have you ever seen what the spirit of the Source is capable of, Elder? You're pitiful friend thinks he's safe inside of me with the walls he's built around his consciousness. What he doesn't realize is that I've been holding the Source back, because I was curious. If I so choose he'll be ripped to shreds. I don't really need him, you see."

Leo swallowed hard hearing that and let his face drop looking down to the floor between them. "I need to draw a Triquetra on the wall and then you just throw the potion into it while thinking about where you want to be."

"That's it?" Dark Chris asked not sure whether the old man was lying or not.

Leo nodded. "But you'll need him to get to where you want to go. You don't know where or when he's talking about."

"Humph, guess I should keep him around for a bit longer, now shouldn't I?" With that Dark Chris strode over next to a blank cavern wall that was roughly flat. "Draw your damn symbol here."

Leo picked up a piece of chalk from the table and walked to the wall doing as he was instructed. Once the Triquetra was finished he stood back, but made sure to pocket the other two vials of potion himself. He didn't want to leave their only method of time travel in the hands of a monster.

Dark Chris didn't seem to notice as he stared at the symbol on the wall. He had seen it before on numerous occasions. It was a witch's symbol. One that spoke of great power. Power that he had been trying to defeat for years now. How ironic that he was now using that precise symbol of power for his own purposes. Part of him didn't want to do this, didn't want to know the truth. That was the part of him that was controlled by the Source and the part that didn't want to be anything more than the demon he was raised to be. But another part of him, that was buried so much deeper was burning inside to see where he had come from and what other greater powers might be available to him if he opened up to the supposed witch inside of him. That part of him was actually hoping that his alter version was speaking the truth. And that part of him was winning out right now as his hand clenched the potion vial and he ran his thumb along the smooth glass that shown a bright blue which was almost phosphorescent in color.

With one last sigh he spoke to the presence within his mind_. "Take me where we need to be." _Then his hand shot out tossing the vial at the Triquetra and was amazed to see the outline shine a brilliant blue to match the color of the potion and then the insides lit up leaving a portal reaching out into what he did not know.

"_What are you waiting for?" Chris asked within his mind._

Dark Chris motioned for Leo to walk ahead and he followed only a pace behind and to the left. As they passed through the portal he felt a confusing emotion bubble up inside him as if he had always been meant to do just that. It almost felt comforting, something Dark Chris was not at all familiar with.

Chris felt that old familiar feeling of stepping through the portal and as the wave of confusion hit his alter self he reached out his senses and projected a figure right before them, leaving the body behind again. He was the first one to immerge from the portal on the other side and landed rather roughly on the attic floor a few feet from the bare wall that was glowing with the portal. Astral Projection while traveling through a time portal was not the easiest feat to accomplish.

He took in the fact that his entire family was standing at different places around the attic staring at him in both shock and confusion, but he didn't have time for that right then as his father from the future and his own true body stepped through the portal behind him. Once the Triquetra had vanished behind them Chris swiped his hand out and called, "Crystal cage!" He was praying that his family's crystals were near by and was relieved to see them fly from their box in the corner and land on the floor surrounding his darker self. Leo had stepped back seeing what Chris was doing and managed not to get caught in the cage himself. Then he rushed around the cage and helped Chris up off the floor. "Quick thinking, there, Chris."

Dark Chris immediately formed a fireball and threw it at the cage, which only served to give him an electric shock for his trouble. "You rotten son of a …" he started to yell but Piper cut him off.

"Hey! Watch your mouth!" she yelled over him glancing down at her young children who were both in Wyatt's playpen. Wyatt's shield had immediately went up the moment that the dark presence had entered the attic and it was surrounding both he and his baby brother.

"I can see we made it before Zankou," Chris stated looking at his younger self who looked to be about six months old. "But not by much. Good timing. How much longer do you think it will be before he shows up, Wyatt?"

"Excuse me, Chris, but wasn't the plan that you stay in the future until we could defeat Zankou and keep you from turning evil?" Paige asked in a highly sarcastic voice.

Chris glanced at Future Leo and couldn't tell them what he suspected would have happened if they had stayed in that time. "Circumstances change."

The grown version of Wyatt had watched in awe as both his brother and his father had stepped through that portal and he was almost in complete shock. "Dad." His voice trembled slightly with the word.

Future Leo turned to his oldest son and a bright smile lit his features. "Wyatt." He strode across the attic and wrapped his son in a large hug and Wyatt could not hold back the tears that rushed to his eyes.

Once they pulled apart and Wyatt had gotten his tears under control he looked to Chris whom was standing back just smiling at the reunion. "Chris, you promised…" he said with a slight amount of reprimand to his voice.

Chris just shrugged. "You should know by now how good a liar I am, Wyatt. You didn't think I'd leave him a prisoner did you?"

An angry growl could be heard from the crystal cage. "I knew something was off. This has all been a trap. What exactly are you?"

Chris turned to his darker self and sighed. "I'm exactly what I told you I was. I'm you from a different timeline. A very different timeline. One in which you were not a evil monster possessed by the Source."

Future Leo moved over next to Chris nervous about what was being said. "Are you sure you should tell him the truth?"

"Yes, I am. I'm fed up with all the secrecy and lies. I've lived with them for too many years now and he's never been fed anything but, so now it's time for all that to change," Chris said with steel determination running through his words.

The present version of Leo stepped up to Chris' other side and glanced over at his future self. "Should I assume that things didn't go so well for me in the future?" he asked slightly afraid of the condition his other self seemed to be in.

Dark Chris had to cackle at that. "That happens when you are held prisoner for a year. Get used to the sight, you'll be living it eventually."

"Not if I can help it, he won't," Chris spat back at Dark Chris.

"What is with you and these damned, goodie-goodie witches?" Dark Chris bellowed in anger.

"Maybe I should introduce you to someone," Chris said walking away from the cage and over to the playpen. Piper smiled knowing what her son was planning on doing and just backed away letting him.

Little Wyatt had yet to lower his shield but the moment he saw Chris approach he lowered it and called out, "K-wiss!" in utter delight.

"Hey, buddy. I need to see the little guy for a minute." With that he picked up his younger self and tickled him slightly as he turned towards the crystal cage.

"I'd like you to meet someone very special. This little guy here grows up to be someone of a large amount of importance in our world. Us!" The last word was spoken in the strongest voice Chris could muster.

Dark Chris snorted at that but there was no mistaking the aura of familiar power he felt from the child. It was the same feeling he had felt when the other Chris had merged with him in the future. It was his own aura.

Chris just nodded. "You may deny it but both of us can feel it, so don't try to fool me even if you are fooling yourself." Chris then turned and placed his younger self back in the playpen on the pillows he had been propped up on. Wyatt again reached out to his brother pleading for him to take him and Chris gladly complied. "And this little guy is someone even more important to us." He swung his brother around eliciting a giggle from the child and faced the cage again. "This is our big brother and not too long ago he saved my life." With that Chris stared at the older version of his brother and smiled. "And now he's trying to save our soul."

Wyatt blushed slightly and lowered his gaze.

Dark Chris stared at the small child in his alter self's arms and confusing thoughts swamped his mind. He had never thought about the fact that if what his other self said was true he might actually have family somewhere out there.

Chris hugged his small brother close and turned around placing him back in the playpen. "Keep him safe okay, Wyatt," he called softly but loud enough for everyone present to hear.

Chris turned to see pure rage envelop his other self. "You lie."

Chris turned to his mother and aunts at that. "Am I really that pig headed?"

Piper shook her head denying that her son was anything but perfect but both her sisters nodded vehemently. Piper saw them out of the corner of her eye and gave them both scathing looks.

Phoebe couldn't help but commenting. "Piper, he lived in this time for months and nearly drug us ragged going out and vanquishing every demon he could find."

"And how many times did we tell him to lighten up and take a rest?" Paige added knowingly.

"Thanks," Chris said rolling his eyes and turning back to face his darker self. "Anyhow, I told you that you were born a witch and that I was raised by witches, well that's not one hundred percent true."

Dark Chris nodded knowing that what he had been told had to have been a lie. "You were actually born half witch and half Whitelighter." With that Chris tried something that he wasn't sure would work but since shimmering had worked while being a projection, he figured this would too. With that he formed into thousands of tiny lights and then reformed across the room between both Leos again. "God! That felt good. You don't know how weird it feels for a Witchlighter to shimmer."

Dark Chris swallowed hard seeing this feat and his head bobbed back in forth in denial.

Chris though found it impossible to truly feel pity for the creature before him. Even if he was himself, he had tried to kill his father and that was something he didn't think he could ever forgive. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to start making some plans with my family."

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_A/N: Ha, ha! Chris can be so vindictive when he truly wants to be, even to himself. Anyhow, anyone see that little trip to the past coming?_


	17. We Need You

**Disclaimer:** Okay, now let's see if anyone actually reads this. How many disclaimers does it take to make Chris and Wyatt mine? Hmm…. Guess not enough yet. Not mine!

**A/N:** I know it has taken me a while to update this but I'm afraid I've been suffering from writer's block on both this story and Lost Child. But I think I've managed to overcome it with this one. Or at least now I know all the events I plan on happening. Looks like there is one more chapter after this one and then a Epilogue/Teaser for the sequel I have planned. So anyhow, hope you all enjoy the way I go with this.

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**Chapter 17 We Need You**

An hour later Chris sat on the floor in front of the couch with a pad of paper and pen clutched in his hand. "Alright idea thirteen shot down," he called out crossing the latest theory off the list. _'Only Aunt Paige would consider orbing the demon into an active volcano,'_ he thought smirking to himself.

"I still think it might have worked," Paige argued.

Chris just rolled his eyes and turned to stare at his darker self, who for the last hour had said nothing at all. He like Chris was sitting on the floor, but was spending all his time glaring at various family members trying to intimidate them. "You know, they lived with me for almost a year and a half. You aren't gonna scare any of them. Just be glad Mom hasn't tried to blow you up yet," he pointed out glaring at his other self.

"Chris, I never tried to blow you up," Piper quipped defending herself.

"That doesn't mean you never wanted to," he teased knowing full well that his neurotic zeal at trying to save Wyatt had infuriated all of them at times.

Piper just looked away nervously. She wouldn't lie to him and honestly she had considered it a time or two before she knew he was her son.

Chris noticed the nervous look and wanted to immediately kick himself for bringing up a touchy subject. "Hey, Mom, it's okay. All that's in the past."

"You are so pathetic," Dark Chris growled after hearing his attempt to assuage his mother's feelings of guilt.

Chris turned back to him. "Well I'm not the one trapped in a cage, now am I. So who's the pathetic one now?"

"Oh, don't worry. Once I figure out how to counteract the spell she cast on these things to keep me from swiping them away, I'll be free and you'll be the one in trouble then," Dark Chris warned with a very dangerous look upon his face.

"Ha, the only way you are gonna do that is to figure out how to orb the crystals away, and since orbing is a good power, I just don't see it happening anytime soon," Chris shot back with just as much vehemence as his other self.

"Um, not to break up the sweet little bonding moment you two are having but I think we might want to get back to Zankou," Wyatt suggested seeing that the argument would never end otherwise.

Both versions of Chris gave him dirty looks but the good one did actually listen. "All right then. What's the next idea?"

"How did we defeat Zankou in the future?" Phoebe asked looking from Chris to Future Leo wondering if either of them knew the answer.

Dark Chris couldn't take it anymore though and burst into the conversation. "Don't you listen, Bimbo? You didn't! He tricked you! I'm the only one who has been able to defeat him yet."

Chris snarled at Dark Chris. "But you didn't defeat him either, now did you? You just trapped him like the first Source did, leaving him to be someone else's future problem." Dark Chris didn't answer that. It was true. He hadn't vanquished Zankou. Truth be told he hadn't really wanted to. He just wanted him out of his way so he could rule without any interference.

Phoebe glared at Dark Chris and turned to their Chris. "What I meant was that we somehow damaged him enough to get him to back down. How did we do it?"

Chris could only shrug. He wasn't exactly sure how they had done it. But Future Leo did know. He remembered the day very well. "It's sort of complicated. Zankou took in the Nexus and you three destroyed it as Astral Projections with a spell that's in the book."

"What? Why would we destroy the Nexus? And none of us Astral Project, and why would we want to?" Piper asked in confusion and then made her way to the Book of Shadows. "I've never seen a spell in here that is supposed to destroy the Nexus. I'm sure I would remember it if I did."

"It's there. It's listed as to vanquish a Suxen, and you had no choice. Zankou would have gotten the Nexus and used it to rule the world if you hadn't, and Prue told me how to use Astral Projection before she died. And believe me if you hadn't have used it none of you would have survived the explosion." Leo explained remembering how it had nearly destroyed the Manor itself.

"And Zankou survived that. We are screwed," Paige pointed out flopping down on the couch in a defeated manner.

"Well maybe with Wyatt's added firepower we can boost the spell enough to destroy him this time," Phoebe suggested thinking it might work.

"Are we really considering destroying the Nexus? I know we are meant to do it or it would not have happened in your future, Leo. But it's not time yet, is it? I mean for right now he's just after Chris. How are we gonna convince him to be more interested in the Nexus?" Phoebe pointed out realizing how much they'd have to change the events of time to accomplish their goal.

"She's right. There is no telling what events might change if we remove the Nexus from the world too early. A lot of good events my not come to pass because if it," Chris considered staring forward pensively and everyone else nodded agreeing with him. They couldn't risk hurting the side of good like that, not unless it was their only choice. "What about a plain and simple vanquishing potion along with a Power of Three spell? It worked for the original Source."

"That sounds a little weak to me. I mean if this demon is so powerful that even The Source couldn't vanquish him and it took us destroying the Nexus just to get him to back off…" Piper just didn't think after everything they'd went through that a simple solution would do it.

"But there were special circumstances behind what happened when you destroyed the Nexus. Zankou weakened you three so immensely beforehand that you lost confidence in yourselves and the Book of Shadows turned against you. It won't happen that way this time. Zankou doesn't have that power over you yet," Future Leo pointed out trying to bolster their confidence some. "Zankou doesn't even know that you all have this future information."

"Wait, but didn't Wyatt say that Zankou always seemed to know what we were gonna do before we did?" Phoebe asked realizing that every plan they were making might somehow be going straight to Zankou.

Future Leo nodded. "That's because he stole powers from a Seer and then vanquished her, but he can't see everything we are doing. To do that he'd have to be getting premonitions non-stop. We have to trust that somehow he'll make a mistake and we'll stop him."

Chris sat biting his lip for a moment trying to remember something and then it hit him. "Wait, I remember something about that Seer. In my original timeline, which we all know has been completely blown out of the water by now, well she came to you for help when Zankou came after her. She offered you information about him in exchange for the opportunity to become a mortal. I guess somehow Zankou's timeline must have gotten pushed up when he decided to kidnap mini-me, since he's already taken the her powers."

"How exactly does that information help us, Chris?" Phoebe asked wondering what he was getting at.

"Because I knew the Seer. I went to her a couple of times when I was searching for the demon that I thought turned Wyatt, and her premonitions were a little on the flaky side if you ask me. She wasn't exactly the best Seer there ever was. If he's using her powers, maybe we could trick him somehow. Plant a false vision. Lure him into a trap so we can vanquish him with the potion and Power of Three spell," he pointed out.

"Yeah but, Chris, a potion would require us to get a piece of his flesh or some blood to make it and other than Wyatt and Future Leo there none of us have ever even seen him yet. What if we can't manage to wound him?" Phoebe pointed out nervously.

"Well, we can use the false vision to trick him into getting the sample and then when he comes back for mini-me you can vanquish him. Between the potion, the Power of Three spell and Wyatt's firepower you might just be able to destroy him." Chris knew it sounded as if he was grasping for straws but they were running out of time and they had to come up with something before it was too late.

Present Leo spoke up then still worried about whether or not they could actually get what they needed to make the potion. "Wyatt did any of you ever manage to injure him in any of the times you traveled back in time?"

Wyatt shook his head knowing that neither he nor his mother or aunts had managed it. "We were mainly trying to protect Chris though. We didn't have a whole lot of time to go on the offensive. He was usually in and then back out before we had enough time to do any real damage."

"That really doesn't bode well for us making a potion does it?" Paige asked.

"It would if…" Wyatt began and then looked around the attic spying what he was looking for in the corner and then walking over to it.

"What, Wyatt?" Piper asked nervously noticing the direction his gaze was focused on.

Wyatt stood there for a moment taking a deep breath. This was something he knew he'd have to eventually do, but had always held back from for some reason. "I never used it, you know?"

Chris stood and walked over to where his brother stood with his back to them all, not knowing exactly what was bothering him so much. Chris didn't touch him but Wyatt knew he was there.

"I was always afraid that in the heat of battle I'd make a mistake and use it on you, well the other you," he said glancing back over his shoulder for a moment then reached his hand out in front of him and turned facing the corner again. Then in a whispered breath he called out, "Excalibur."

A sudden gust of wind flew through the attic and blew a blanket from the item it covered in the corner and with a loud slicing sound the mighty sword flew from its stone and landed in the hand of its rightful ruler. The entire room was completely silent as Wyatt stared at the blade he had always been meant to weald but had never had the courage enough to take up.

But the silence was broken a moment later by cackling laughter. "A sword! You have got to be joking me. You think you are gonna match Zankou in battle with a sword."

They all turned to the darker Chris who had stood and was enjoying himself thoroughly while trying to completely debase those around him. Chris stepped forward next to the crystal cage and glared at his other self. "I wonder if it would hurt me to torture myself?"

"Chris," Piper warned worried for a moment that he'd actually try it.

"Fine! For your information, that is Excalibur and even if you don't have any respect for anyone in this room you should at least understand the importance of that sword," he spoke out hating the fact that his darker version refused to show anything but contempt for anything in his life.

"Oh, I recognize the sword and I also understand that the wonderful Twice Blessed Brat there is the famed reincarnation of King Arthur, but I also know that he has no experience with a blade, Zankou on the other hand…" His smirk was broad enough to almost be considered a smile.

Chris stared at his darker self for a moment trying to see the deception in his features but he had to admit that he just couldn't see it. "He may be right, Wyatt."

"And what difference does that make?" Wyatt asked not seeing any other choice.

Chris spun towards his brother with a look that clearly said he thought his brother was losing his mind. "A lot actually. I'm not gonna let you sacrifice yourself for me Wyatt."

Wyatt crossed his arms before him holding the sword down so the point nearly touched the floor and plastered a look on his face that warned his brother not to test him. "And why not? You nearly sacrificed yourself for me, Chris."

"That was different," Chris answered crossing his own arms ready to take this argument as far as it had to go.

The look on Wyatt's face grew sour and he shook his head sadly. "We aren't going back to that stupid 'Twice Blessed, I'm more important than you' theory are we? Because if that's the card you're playing I'm gonna tell you right now, Chris, that you are full of shit."

"Wyatt," Piper said in a warning tone at his use of foul language around the children.

"Sorry, Mom, but someone's gotta get through that thick skull of his," Wyatt answered never taking his eyes from his brother. "You don't get it do you, Chris?"

"Don't get what?" he answered.

"You think that you mean nothing. That if you weren't around the world would just go right on without even missing a beat. Nothing would change. Well you are more wrong than you can ever imagine." Since the day he had first told them about Chris being Evil in his timeline he had thought a lot about his brother's words. His claim that Wyatt was the important one, and he had come to several conclusions that his brother had probably never even began to examine.

Chris didn't answer him. He knew what his brother was trying to do. He was willing to say anything to convince Chris that he was wrong, but Chris just wasn't buying it. Wyatt was the important one. Chris was the extra.

"Listen to me, damn you! I see that look in your eyes. I know what it means. You aren't paying attention." With those words Wyatt moved forward and stopped just inches in front of Chris so he could look him straight in the eye. "I don't care how many times you've traveled through time you are still my **little** brother and you are gonna listen to me for a change, whether you like it or not."

For a moment Chris stared him in the eyes defiantly but eventually he broke eye contact and let his posture slump admitting to himself that he did need to at least listen to his brother's views whether he wanted to agree with them or not.

When Wyatt saw this he continued on. "Good! Now, Chris, if you were never born or if you had just decided that it was too much work to try to save me from becoming Evil what would I be like right now?"

Chris glanced over his shoulder and nodded towards his darker self. "Worse than him."

Dark Chris snorted at the thought that anyone could be more evil than he was and was about to comment sarcastically so when he was interrupted. Wyatt already being on a roll decided to put his dark brother in his place too. "Hey, you may rule the Underworld, buddy, but I ruled the entire feakin' world, so shut up!"

Dark Chris snarled at that but kept his mouth shut realizing just how much backbone the Twice Blessed Brat was beginning to show, something he had never done in their own timeline.

"Now, I'm gonna tell you something that might surprise you, Chris. I may be the prophesized child and all that crap but to tell you the truth, I'm not that much more powerful than most witches. Not anything like I was when I was evil. And I blame you for that. That's right. I blame you and do you know why?" Wyatt asked knowing his brother would have no clue.

"Not really, but I'm sure you are gonna tell me," Chris answered sarcastically. He had to admit that he had never figured Wyatt would blame him for anything, not after the way he and their parents had been treating him recently but he was curious about it anyway.

"Because you weren't there! You weren't there to push me into being what I was meant to be. Not to mention the fact that I had to listen to them warning me every time I turned around that I had been evil in your original timeline and without you around to pull my butt out of the fire it could easily happen again. Do you know how hard it is to live up to your full potential when every time you want to use magic you have to wonder if it's gonna consume you? You weren't there to be my balance or my conscience or whatever you should have been. I needed you and I still do, so get this straight I'm gonna do whatever is necessary to save you." Wyatt paused to catch his breath and the entire attic was completely silent after his words. None of them had realized what life without Chris would have done to him. "I won't go back to a life without you, Chris. I don't want that life back."

Chris had been watching his brother's emotions play across his face as he spoke and the words he said combined with the emotions he saw were overwhelming. Chris had never imagined that his brother would feel that way. Sure he knew that Wyatt was grateful to him for traveling through time to keep him from turning evil, but Chris had always assumed that he had served his purpose after that and he wasn't really needed anymore. Hadn't the evil version of his brother told him that he didn't need him? Chris remembered that day very well but this was not that Wyatt. This Wyatt was a completely different person. "I'm sorry, Wyatt. I just didn't realize."

"Well now you do. So don't argue with me anymore. We are going to pull this off one way or another." For the first time in his life Wyatt felt a surge of confidence streak through him. It was most certainly a welcome change to his usual worry over ever little thing magical.

Chris smirked slightly and nodded at his brother, " Okay, Wy. We'll do it your way." _For now_, Chris added silently knowing that anything could change at a moments notice.

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"Chris, are you sure about this? I think maybe you and your dad should go ahead back to the future," Piper pointed out as they all got ready to put their plan into action.

"No, Mom, not yet. Once we have the potion ready I'll head back. You might need my help getting a sample from Zankou and besides I don't want to give my other self enough time to cause any more chaos in the future before the change is made," he said glancing at his father from the future remembering oh too well what his fate would have been if Chris hadn't resorted to desperate measures. His first thought had been to leave his father in the past until after the change was made but the notion of him retaining memories of the hell Dark Chris had put him through stopped that idea dead in its tracks. They'd have to all three go back together before Zankou was vanquished for everything to work out as planned.

Piper followed his gaze and thought that just maybe she understood what he was referring too. The future version of her husband, though didn't look like he had aged any, did look as if he had been living through hell and she could only imagine what had been done to him. "He doesn't blame you, you know."

Chris donned a small smile at that his gaze never leaving his father. "I know. Don't worry, Mom. Dad and I are better than we've ever been before."

"I'm glad for that, Chris. You both need each other," Piper said reaching out touching his chin, pulling his gaze back to her. "We all need you, Chris. Don't ever forget that."

His smile brightened even further. "I won't forget, Mom. Never again! I promise."

"So are we ready to do this?" Paige asked from across the room interrupting their conversation.

Piper and Chris turned to join the others who would be involved in the plan. Chris looked around and saw that everyone seemed ready. Paige and Phoebe had several all-purpose vanquishing potions in expectance that Zankou wouldn't be alone. Present Leo had baby Chris in his arms and little Wyatt standing beside him ready to orb them 'up there' until the first battle was over. Wyatt from his time stood with Excalibur ready to fight. And his father from the future was standing next to the crystal cage with his arms folded over his chest. "Are you sure you are okay with this, Dad? If you don't want to stay with him your younger self could always switch with you," Chris asked seeing the look of hate that his darker self was bestowing on their father.

Future Leo looked towards the dark presence in the cage and nodded. "I'll be fine, Chris. I'm not the one who's a prisoner anymore."

"Give me one chance and you'll be much worse, Elder!" Dark Chris growled out in disgust.

Phoebe stepped forward and held out a potion vial to Leo. "Just in case."

Leo looked at her and then to Chris in confusion but didn't take the vial. "What's this?"

"It's a vanquishing potion. The same as the one we used for the original Source, "Phoebe explained. "Chris asked us to make it for you."

"Chris, you know I won't use this!" Leo said in utter shock that his son would suggest it. For one brief moment he had the urge to slap it from Phoebe's hand.

Chris stepped forward and took the potion from his aunt and then pushed it into his father's hand. "Dad, I know you won't do anything that would risk hurting me. It won't vanquish him, I promise. It doesn't have his blood in it. It will just injure him enough so you can get the upper hand if you need it."

Leo sighed in relief. For a moment there he truly had been worried that Chris would expect him to kill his evil self if necessary. He could never do that. Not even to the darker version of his son. "All right. I'll take it, but I doubt I'll need to use it."

Chris gave him a very serious look and spoke in the firmest voice he could. "Dad, you have to be prepared to use it if you need to. Promise me, okay? I didn't risk everything to lose you now when we are this close to fixing it all."

Leo stared back at his son and nodded in acceptance. "I'll be fine. You just go do what you have to."

Chris wasn't sure if that statement made him feel better or more anxious about leaving his father behind but he knew there was no other way.

"All right then, let's go," Piper called reaching out to grab Chris' arm as she turned to her husband from the present. "Remember, orb them 'up there' as soon as I call you." With that Piper, Chris, Wyatt, Paige and Phoebe orbed away to a find a much safer battleground.

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_A/N: That was probably the hardest chapter I've had to write so far, as far as the facts being complicated that is. I forgot how much hell the sisters went through when they vanquished Zankou on the tv show. But anyhow I tried to keep the events as canon as I possibly could with only a few changes. So anyone want to guess where they are orbing to?___


	18. To Belong

**Disclaimer:** Well this is the close to being the last chapter and neither Chris nor Wyatt are mine yet, so I must have failed in my evil plot. Oh well. It was well worth the try.

**A/N:** Okay some of those guesses are just completely crazy but I love hearing them anyway. But the correct guesser is StoryGirl83 even if you did discount it as not possible after you suggested it. I will be explaining how it is possible though. So here we go.

This was meant to be the last chapter of the story but somehow the events took much longer than I thought they would so there will in fact be one more chapter after this one. So it's not over yet. I hope you all enjoy this.

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**Chapter 18 : To Belong**

"Are you sure Zankou can get in here, Chris?" Phoebe asked looking around the large library in magic school. She had to admit that it was a good choice for facing him. There wasn't enough room in the Manor to really have any sort of large scale battle, which they were all sure this would end up being and besides they wanted to keep Zankou away from Dark Chris just as much as they wanted to keep him away from baby Chris, not to mention the Nexus and the Book of Shadows too.

"Well in my original timeline Gideon stepped down from being headmaster of Magic School just about the time he figured out that he couldn't kill Wyatt. Paige convinced the Elders to let her keep Magic School open after Gideon left and between the other Elders and the Power of Three it remained protected for some time but with the crisis over mini-me well…" Chris pointed out staring at his Aunt Paige who had adopted a sad look.

"I never had a chance to convince the Elders to save Magic School, so all of the enchantments that protected it are gone now," she finished for him.

"Sorry, Aunt Paige," Chris said wincing slightly as she sighed heavily.

Phoebe could feel the sadness that this brought her sister and nephew so she crossed over next to Paige wanting to comfort her. "Hey after this is over you will reopen Magic School. Remember I saw it in my vision quest."

She just nodded at Phoebe and smiled at her nephew. "Don't worry about it, Chris. Right now you are a lot more important than this building is to me."

"Thanks," he answered her and turned to his mother and Wyatt who were waiting not so patiently. "All right, lets get ready."

"By the way, Chris, can you use your powers while you are a projection?" Wyatt asked in hopes that his brother wouldn't be in danger by being there to help him.

"Well I can orb and shimmer, so I don't see why not. I wonder though…" With that he held out one hand and was surprised to see a fireball appear in it. "Ha, my darker self's powers might come in handy after all."

Almost everyone around the room had to smile appreciatively at the power boost that Chris' powers would give them. Piper though seemed worried about it. "Don't get used to that, Mister. The demonic powers go 'bye bye' once this is over."

Chris smirked at that. "Yes Mom," he said in a slightly petulant voice trying to lighten the dour mood they all seemed to be sinking into.

She rolled her eyes and crossed over next to her sisters. "Let's just get this over with, okay?"

Wyatt and he took up places that would give them a clear view to protect the sisters as all three of them gathered together and began to read a spell they had wrote.

_The power of the witches rise  
Send to him across the skies_

_That which we now envision  
To bring about our salvation_

_Give to him what we wish him to see_  
_And not what really has come to be._

With those words Phoebe concentrated on her powers of premonition, not to receive a vision but to send one to Zankou. A vision of just Piper taking baby Chris to the Magic School in hopes that he would be safe there and Leo orbing Wyatt 'up there' for his own safety, knowing the temptation would be too great for him to withstand. With only Piper to protect the baby he should be a sitting duck and as soon as it was said Piper called out, "Now, Leo!" Then there was complete silence.

"So did it work?" Paige asked after a few moments of nothing happening at all.

But just as her words died away several demons shimmered or flamed into the room ready to attack with Zankou being the last one to arrive.

Not a soul moved though as Zankou stood in place glancing at the extra four people he had not expected to be there, and the one who was not there who should have been. "Where is the baby?" he asked calmly.

"Somewhere that you will never get him," Piper called out reaching her hands up trying to use her powers to blow him up. Unfortunately it just did not work but did manage to bounce off of him and blast the demon standing beside him.

That was the spark that started the full out battle as demon after demon appeared before them. Piper's hands flicked out time and time again as she vanquished any demon that was foolish enough to get near her, while Paige orbed anything she could into the monsters along with their own fire and energy balls. Phoebe took a more hands on approach as she faced several of them in hand to hand combat but eventually fell back to just using potions to blow them up.

Chris at first had been hesitant to use his demonic powers, worried about drawing Zankou's attention but it eventually became a necessity as more and more of the monsters kept forming in front of him. Once he did let loose with the fireballs several looks of surprise were cast his way by the demons surrounding him and especially by Zankou.

"Stop this!" Zankou's booming voice flew through the room and it was as if every demon present just fell still hearing his command.

Piper flicked her hands out and blew up one of the demons afterwards and gave Zankou a contemptuous look as he growled at her. "What, I don't take orders from you."

"This is useless. Do any of you truly think that you can vanquish me?" he called out in a commanding voice.

Wyatt had been stealthily moving through the demon ranks stabbing as many of them as he could before Zankou's order had frozen them all. He was not yet close enough to make an attempt on the demon though.

"Maybe not right now, but eventually we will. You won't take my son," Piper vowed glaring at the demon.

Zankou smirked at her overconfidence. "I've already foreseen it, my lady. Your son will be mine."

"You might want to use that little power of premonition to look further ahead, demon," Chris interrupted not able to hold his tongue any longer. "You may get him, but you won't rule him forever."

Zankou looked towards Chris with an expression of puzzlement. "You seem familiar." He squinted at the witch who had been using demonic powers to vanquish his minions. "You use demonic powers, yet you fight on their side. This I find curious."

Piper could see the wheels turning inside the demon's head and felt fear grip her heart. What would Zankou do if he realized who Chris was? "Hey, demon. Stay on target here. Who we choose to fight on out side is our business," she called out trying to distract the demon from her son.

Zankou turned back to Piper and smiled at her. "But a demon fighting along side the Charmed Ones. That hasn't happened since Balthazor and after seeing how that turned out, I'm surprised you'd tempt fate again."

Wyatt had been stopped in his tracks when the demons had frozen at their master's command but he knew he'd have to somehow manage to get to Zankou without being noticed. _'Thank god for orbing'_, he thought concentrating his powers and disappeared into bright lights reforming directly behind Zankou. He immediately struck out with Excalibur in hopes of destroying the demon or at the very least wounding him with the legendary sword.

But Zankou had been prepared for such an event and sidestepped the blow grasping Wyatt's arm and twisting it up pulling the blade with it. He glanced at the sword and a smile touched his lips. "My, my, what do we have here? The legendary Excalibur. I take it you must be Wyatt, then. You really should learn how to use a blade properly before you attempt something so foolish."

Piper and Chris had both stepped forward in fear for Wyatt as they watched the powerful demon disarm him. "Let go of my son," Piper warned her hands up and at the ready. She knew she couldn't destroy the demon with her powers but she might actually be able to wound him if she blasted him enough times.

Zankou ignored her though and turned to face Chris as he thrust Excalibur against Wyatt's throat. "If this one is Wyatt, then that must make you… but how is that possible? I know I shall succeed. I've seen it but I sense no evil in you."

"Let's just say that time travel is complicated," Chris answered cryptically.

Zankou thought about that answer but still seemed skeptical. "I have the feeling that there is so much more to it than you say, but for now I shall work with what I have and that my friend is your brother."

Piper had moved even closer but was too frightened for Wyatt to attempt rushing the demon. Phoebe and Paige had remained quiet but an idea struck Paige. "Excalibur will not allow you to kill its ruler." She could see the pressure that the demon was exerting on the sword to keep it pressed against Wyatt's throat.

"Ah, you are almost correct, Paige," Zankou answered glancing at the sword which was vibrating in his grasp. "The sword senses its true master, yes. But it will not serve a master who is not worthy of it. And I'm afraid your dear nephew does not have the confidence enough in himself to control it. I can feel the blade's reluctance to fight me even as we speak."

Chris could see everything falling apart right before his eyes. Wyatt wasn't ready for this. Zankou was right. Even if he was beginning to overcome his insecurities it just wasn't enough to defeat such a powerful demon. It wasn't even enough to control the sword, which was his own birthright. He knew he'd have to do something to distract the demon and one thing did come to mind. "Why me?"

This confused almost everyone present but Zankou seemed to understand the question. "Why did I choose you instead of your brother?" Chris nodded and waited for the demon to answer the question.

"There have been many rumors floating around the underworld recently about the Charmed Ones' whitelighter. A whitelighter who was also a witch. The rumors spoke of time travel and of future knowledge. It didn't take too much thought to discern that you had to be a Halliwell," Zankou began to explain but the statement struck a cord with the Charmed Ones. They had lived months with Chris and none of them had even considered the possibility until Phoebe's vision quest. How exactly had a demon realized it more readily than they did?

But Zankou wasn't done with his explanation. "It takes a lot of backbone and ingenuity to survive in enemy territory. But you not only survived in it, but seemed almost at home in my realm. That piqued my interest more than anything else. How exactly could a being who was so good maneuver so well through evil? It led me to the conclusion that just maybe you were meant for my world all along."

Chris had to hold back a chuckle at that thought. He really didn't want to admit to the demon that he had seen both he and Wyatt as evil and Wyatt had made a much better Evil ruler than he did. What he did want to do was to draw the demon away from his brother. "You never know. You could be right about that, but that remains to be seen," he said smirking deviously himself.

"Chris, that's not funny," Piper warned not exactly sure what her son was playing at.

"Do I look like I'm laughing, Piper?" He deliberately used his mother's given name knowing how it would sound to Zankou. If he were right Zankou would believe that he was evil, because that was what the demon wanted most. "He may actually be onto something."

Wyatt's eyes widened at his brother's cold tone and Phoebe gasped hearing it. "Chris, what's wrong with you?" she asked in confusion.

"Maybe I'm just beginning to wise up some. Maybe I'm tired of all this constant fighting for a world that doesn't give a damn about me. I'm tired of vanquishing demons, goblins, trolls and every other magical suxen that gets in our way. Well from now on you can do it by yourselves," he answered her giving her a scathing look and then turned back to Zankou. "You want to see if I belong in your world? Follow me and we'll find out once and for all."

With that Chris shimmered out and Zankou smiled knowingly. "Guess I was slightly more effective than you might have thought." He glanced at the sword in his hand that was still fighting his grip and made a split second decision. He shimmered away letting the sword clang noisily to the floor. The other demons in the room took up the fight again knowing that their master would need a distraction.

"Oh my god, Chris, get your ass back here!" Piper screamed in outrage as she threw her hands out blowing up the nearest demon.

* * *

Chris shimmered into the attic and knew he'd have to work quickly. Zankou wouldn't be too far behind him. "Dad, we need the time travel potion, now!" he called before he had even fully reformed.

Leo turned to him in slight surprise and felt fear grip him at his son's hurried statement. "What's wrong, Chris?"

"We don't have time to talk. Give me the potions. All of them," Chris called striding to his father's side and holding his hand out.

This confused Leo but he did as his son asked and handed him both of the time travel potions and the source vanquishing potion. "Where are Piper and Wyatt and your aunts?" Leo asked in even more concern.

"Busy," he answered and then another figure shimmered in a few feet behind him.

Leo's eyes widened as he saw Zankou directly behind his son. "Chris, move," he called trying to shove his son out of the demon's path but Chris didn't budge and shook his head at his father.

"Sorry, Dad," Chris said backing away from his father a few steps and glancing over his shoulder at the demon.

"Chris, what's going on here?" Leo asked seeing that Zankou was just standing there with his arms folded over his chest as if he was waiting for something.

Zankou quirked an eyebrow and addressed Chris with a question. "Will you kill him?"

Chris took an unsteady breath and looked back to his father. Leo's eyes doubled in size as he realized that the demon was speaking of him. "What happened to you, Chris?"

The darker version of Chris had been watching the exchange and he started to laugh hysterically. "I knew I wasn't some weak goodie-goodie. It's about time you showed your true colors."

Chris ignored his darker self's comment and looked very thoughtfully at his father. "It won't do any good to kill this version of him. He's from my timeline and he's powerless. So…" Chris flung his arm out and one of the time travel potions crashed against the wall opening a portal directly behind his father. As the portal opened Chris threw out his arm knocking his father backwards into the portal and watched as it swallowed him and then closed in upon itself. The last vision he had of his father was one that nearly broke his heart. He would think that Chris had betrayed them. But it was the only way to save him and he had to try.

"Where did you send him," Zankou asked suspiciously.

Chris seemed to think for a moment and then turned to face Zankou. "Honestly I'm not sure where I was thinking when I opened that portal. Since it's supposed to open to whenever you are thinking of, I wonder how that will come out? Oh well, he'll show up somewhere. I just hope he doesn't end up as dinosaur kibble this time."

The demon gave him a questioning look and Chris just smirked. "It's a long story. Let's just say that he might not do so well since I won't be there to save his ass this time."

"But why not kill him?" Zankou asked still slightly suspicious.

Chris glanced to his darker self and it struck him what to answer. "You see that over there?" he said motioning to his darker self.

Zankou glanced at the dark being still locked in the crystal cage and nodded.

"That is the Chris that was raised by you. And in his ultimate goal to gain power he managed to lock you away, just like the former Source did," Chris said taking a shot that this wouldn't completely anger the demon. Zankou scowled at that notion but kept quiet as Chris continued. "I asked him why he didn't just vanquish you and he wouldn't answer me. I know now that he felt enough loyalty and maybe even some affection towards you because he sees you as a father figure."

Zankou glanced again at the darker version of Chris and could understand the notion. Demons, though they didn't exactly feel love, did at times become attached to their fellow demons, mentors, siblings, and even parents.

Chris could see the wheels spinning in his mind and finished the explanation. "Just as he could not vanquish you, I can not kill the man who raised me either. Well not on purpose that is. I gave him his one chance at survival. We'll see how he does with it."

"I see. I'm assuming you are an astral projection and that is your real body?" Zankou asked nodding towards the crystal cage.

Chris nodded and he knew exactly where the demon's thoughts were going but he kept silent letting Zankou work it out on his own. "I'm guessing you don't get along too well with your alter personality then either."

Chris chuckled at that. "You can say that."

"But he is the one who possesses the spirit of the Source. So if I were to blast you with an energy ball you'd just merge with him again. Then he'd be in full control and I don't see that as being a good thing for you," Zankou had started to form a plan of his own. With the help of his future pupil it would be simple to take down the Charmed Ones and the Elder and then he'd have whatever he wanted.

Chris smiled at that and turned walking towards the podium that held the Book of Shadows. He moved around behind it and placed both hands on the tome smiling like the cat that ate the canary. "But if you do that, how will you get to the Nexus?"

* * *

Piper's hands flew up one final time as she blew up the last demon in the magic school and then she collapsed in exhaustion on the floor. She glanced up and saw that Wyatt was healing a shoulder wound Phoebe had taken and Paige was slumped on what was left of a couch that had seen too many energy balls that day.

After Chris and Zankou had departed the demons had not stopped to even let them catch their breaths until they had all been destroyed. _Chris, god what was he doing_? "We have to find Chris and figure out what he's up to."

"What he's up to! Piper, didn't you hear him? Did you see his face? It sure looked like he was siding with the demon to me," Paige said in disgust. She didn't want to believe that her nephew would do such a thing but she was beginning to wonder if just maybe Chris had spent too much time merged with his evil self.

"No, Chris wouldn't do that," Wyatt said very quietly. He had seen the look on his brother's face and it had frightened him. It reminded him so much of the evil version who had tormented the world in his timeline but that couldn't be Chris. He couldn't believe that the person who he had come to think of as his true brother would ever become that.

"You didn't hear him, did you?" Phoebe asked in a knowing tone.

They all looked to her in confusion not realizing what she was getting at. She just shook her head and smiled. "My nephew is a genius."

"You are going to have to explain that to me, Sis, because I'm still not getting it," Piper said in exasperation.

"He said suxen!" she informed them as if it was the most important thing in the world.

Piper's head weaved back and forth and her face clearly had a 'so what' look plastered to it. She had heard Chris' statement about them having to take care of their own demon hunts from then on. They'd vanquished so many demons over the years that it didn't matter which ones her son was tired of vanquishing.

But Paige's eyes widened at the word. "What did Leo say about a spell to vanquish a suxen?"

Wyatt caught on then and his eyes widened. "Suxen spelled backwards is Nexus!"

Piper's eyes matched her son's and her head started nodding back and forth fiercely. "Are you saying that Chris wants us to vanquish the Nexus?"

"But didn't Chris think it was a bad idea earlier?" Paige asked remembering the conversation they had shared.

"Maybe he's just realizing that it's the only way to kill Zankou," Wyatt suggested. "Face it, I don't have enough skill and ability to face Zankou myself. Chris knows that."

Piper stared in worry at her oldest son. None of them had even guessed what effect not having his little brother around would have on her older son. It didn't seem fair that Wyatt couldn't live up to his full potential without Chris there to push him. But none the less that was how things had worked out. "But in the future it didn't work. We didn't vanquish Zankou."

"Maybe Chris has something in mind that will help that too," Phoebe suggested. She knew that they were taking a leap of faith with this but she couldn't believe that Chris had just all of a sudden changed evil.

Piper shrugged not sure what else to do. "Well if we are gonna do this, we'll need Leo's help… Leo!"

* * *

_A/N: Well that it for this chapter. Chris can be so devious when he wants to be, can't he? Anyhow, next chapter will be the last chapter and we'll get to see exactly how things play out for our heroes. I hope to get it done soon but that all depends on how my muse treats me and how many other storylines she thrusts into my head between now and then._


	19. Sacrifice

**Disclaimer**: Sadly, they are not, nor never will be mine but in my waking dreams … anyhow you know what I mean.

**A/N:** Well this is it. The last chapter, and only a few hours after I uploaded Chapter 18. That's just so awesome. It feels great to finally finish this fic. I hope you all enjoy the way I go with this.

* * *

**Chapter 19: Sacrifice**

"Why exactly are you letting _him_ call the shots?" Dark Chris asked giving Zankou a scathing look.

"Because he has what I want right now," Zankou answered honestly.

"If he can touch the Book then so can I. We don't need him," the darker being said petulantly trying to gain control of the situation.

Chris snorted at that and went back to the scrap paper he was writing the spell on. "Can you do me a favor and when you start raising mini-me see what you can do about teaching him some humility. His cockiness is really getting annoying. And for evil's sake teach him hand-to-hand combat. If I hadn't been around he would have gotten our ass kicked by a girl in the future."

Zankou couldn't help but chuckle at that. He had to admit that even though having the powers of the Source at their disposal was a much-preferred bonus he really liked this version of Chris much better than the darker one. "I'll see what I can do about that."

Zankou motioned to the potion that was simmering in the cauldron behind Chris. "What is in that?"

"It's a potion that should allow you to better control the power of the Shadow when you draw if from the Nexus. It's very unstable and most beings that have tried to take it in haven't been able to keep it for long. This should solve that problem for you." With that Chris turned to the cauldron and acted as if he was putting the potion into a vial but instead pulled the source-vanquishing potion out of his pocket. "Now the only thing left is for you to bless it."

"Bless it?" Zankou asked not quite understanding what Chris wanted.

He turned around facing the demon and spoke up. "With your blood." Zankou looked skeptical at that notion but Chris rushed to convince him. "The potion has to be bound to you for the Shadow to take to it, otherwise you might not be able to keep it once you get it."

"Why are you doing this? You're other self there eventually trapped me because he didn't want to share power so why would you willingly give me more power?" Zankou asked not understanding at all.

"My other self there may be strong but he's very selfish, and that overrides common sense. His attempts at ruling the world in the future are admirable but I've seen better. But with you as the Shadow and me as the Source there is nothing in this world that could stop us from ruling it. I'm not just talking about the underworld and demons, but the entire world. Everything." Chris picked up a knife from the potions table and stepped around the podium. "So what do you say? Do we rule the world together?"

Zankou took the knife from Chris and stood very still for a moment trying to decide whether to go along with him or to just use the knife to decimate the astral projection. But finally he reached down and pricked a finger drawing a slight amount of blood and then held his hand out over the potion vial that Chris still held.

After the potion was blessed Chris handed the spell to Zankou and then glanced to his darker self. This would be the hard part.

"When you merge with him won't he gain control?" Zankou asked seeing where Chris' eyes were directed.

Chris' gaze turned thoughtful at that. "Your little speech at Magic School about Excalibur made me think. You see the spirit of the Source is a lot like Excalibur. It will only serve a strong will, and I'm willing to bet you that my will is stronger than my counterpart's."

A snort of derision came from the crystal cage and the words, "We'll see about that," came floating across the room.

"No better time than the present," Chris whispered feeling a slight tremble run through him.

Zankou stepped back and waited as Chris walked forward and orbed away one of the crystals then the astral projection disappeared leaving behind just one version of the demonic witchligher.

Once Chris reentered his body he felt the immediate oppressive surge of the Source and realized for the first time that he had interpreted the spirit's actions wrong. It wasn't trying to swamp him and destroy him. It sensed that he was the stronger of the two consciousness and immediately tried to latch onto his mind to become one with him. _"You've already lost,"_ he spoke internally to his darker self.

"_I'm stronger than you,"_ Dark Chris growled into his mind.

"_If that is the case then why has the Source chosen me?"_ Chris asked in a mild slightly cocky tone.

His words silenced the dark presence inside of him for a moment but then in a small voice was heard again. _"What happens to me?"_

For a moment Chris felt a pang of guilt. His other self had been living in this body for twenty-three years, and had experienced life and emotions just the same as he had. In a sense he was destroying that, but he knew in his heart that it was never meant to be that way. _"You'll be put to the back of my mind at first. I'll hear you at times but eventually you'll just fade away and we'll become one. You might effect my actions at times but not to the point where you would ever control me again."_

The voice of his darker self was silenced with that and Chris pulled down his final barrier letting the spirit of the Source flood through his entire body and soul. For a moment he felt the heady thrill of power ensnaring him and the temptation to revel in the feeling was unbearably tempting. Many times during his original timeline he had wondered how a good soul such as his brother's could ever be corrupted by evil so easily, but now he finally found understanding in his own attempted corruption. It would be so easy just to embrace the evil and let it rule his world.

He turned dark obsidian eyes towards Zankou and smiled wickedly. "Now, lets say we go get that Shadow for you."

Zankou matched his smile and they both shimmered into the basement.

* * *

"I hope Chris knows what he's doing?" Paige spoke up after they had discussed with Leo what they'd need to do to destroy the Nexus.

"We just have to have faith in him, Aunt Paige," Wyatt said giving her an encouraging look. It was quite different to see the way these versions of his family thought of Chris. In his timeline there had never been any doubt in any of them that Chris would be able to fix the situation if he was the Chris they had remembered from the past. But now being in the past they weren't quite as confident as they would some day become. Time surely did work to fade old transgressions.

"But even if we can vanquish Zankou what happens to Chris?" Piper asked in fear.

Leo had been thinking of the same thing. "Even though he'll have all of the memories of the other Chris he should revert back to a good version of himself but…"

"But what?" Phoebe asked hearing the worry in Leo's voice.

"I'm not so sure what will happen to the spirit of the Source. It is timeless and exists at all times in the world. It sometimes lays dormant for years in the underworld but it still exists. Right now it is residing inside Chris in this timeline and in the future. I'm not sure if changing Chris back to good will drive it out or not," Leo explained his fear.

"Are you saying that our son may always be the Source of all Evil even if we change what made him that way?" Piper asked angrily. Hadn't Chris taken that into consideration? What was he thinking?

"If he went back to the future before we vanquished Zankou, he'd have a chance. The Source would have never gotten into him in the first place and wouldn't search him out." Leo knew that there was little hope of getting Chris back to his time before that happened though.

"Fine, Wyatt, you let us handle Zankou. I want you to find a way to get your brother back to his own time before we vanquish the Nexus. I don't care if you have to drag him back there kicking and screaming, just do it," Piper demanded of her oldest son. "We won't vanquish Zankou before you find a way."

Wyatt nodded in understanding. They had already figured out that his future father was no longer in this time since neither he nor Leo could sense him but Wyatt was hoping that Chris still possessed the time travel potion.

"So, we distract Zankou while Wyatt corrals his brother and you Leo are going back 'up there' to watch over the little ones. If anything happens to us, it's up to you to keep them safe and away from evil," Piper said standing ready to put the plan in action.

Wyatt also stood and got ready to orb to the Manor, but Paige stopped him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She asked motioning to Excalibur, which was leaning against the couch she had just stood from.

Wyatt shook his head and frowned at the item. "It's no good against Zankou and there is no way in hell I'm using it on Chris, so what's the use?"

"It's your birthright, Wyatt," Phoebe pointed out.

"It's worthless, Aunt Pheebs." He didn't bother to wait for her reply as he orbed away.

The sisters glanced at each other and a large sigh left Piper's lips. They really would have to work on his confidence issues, but now was not the time. So they gathered together and readied themselves to Astral Project to the Manor.

Wyatt orbed into the Manor's kitchen deciding not to orb directly into the basement or the attic. He knew he'd find his brother and Zankou in one of those two rooms but he wanted a chance to observe before he let them know he was there. He immediately heard voices coming from the basement and inched towards the open door. He could see Zankou and Chris standing in the middle of the room over a hole in the floor.

"So how exactly do we do this?" Zankou asked Chris wanting to know in advance what would happen. He still wasn't completely confident in his knew protégé's trustworthiness.

Chris smiled understanding the demon's fears. "First you say the spell and take in the Shadow. Then I hit you with the binding potion. It will permanently bind the Shadow to you. Then even if the sisters say the spell to banish the Shadow it won't work. Then we take over the world."

"You make it sounds so simple," Zankou commented. "But what of the sisters? Will you be able to kill them when the time comes?" Chris' refusal to banish Leo earlier had made the demon suspicious.

"I was hoping that you'd take care of that for me. I'll distract them for you, if you like, but I'd prefer you do the deed," Chris explained in a hopeful voice.

"And what of their future progeny?" Zankou asked not at all surprised by his reaction. After all Chris was still part human with human emotions. He'd have to work with the child version of him to stamp that out in the years to come.

"I've actually never lived in a timeline where we've been all that close. I'm sure I could manage that. Then you can raise his younger counterpart to be like us. By the time I get back to my own time he should be quite the ally for both of us," Chris commented not even sounding the least bit upset about trying to kill his future brother.

"Thanks, bro," Wyatt whispered in disgust at what his brother appeared to have become. Time was running out. He had to get this done, so as Zankou started to say the spell to draw out the Shadow he orbed into the basement just a few feet from his brother.

Chris glanced at Wyatt and then called to Zankou, "Keep saying the spell. I'll take care of him."

"No, Chris. I'll take care of you," Wyatt said grasping his brother's arm just as he saw his mother and aunts appear on the other side of the room. Then he orbed them away back to Magic School. He needed to get Chris away from Zankou to be able to use the time travel potion, if Chris still had it.

* * *

When they appeared in the school Chris glanced around the room and saw his mother and aunts' bodies slumped on the couches. "Well I see Dad showed them Aunt Prue's trick." Then he swung around and faced Wyatt. "It's about time you came. I was beginning to worry that you hadn't figured out my message."

Wyatt stared in surprise at his brother, obsidian eyes and all, who sounded just like the brother he had been trying to save a few hours before. "What, you didn't think I was really going to help Zankou, did you?"

"Well I… but you said… you were gonna kill me," Wyatt blustered trying to put together a coherent sentence.

"Wyatt, I'm the best liar you know," Chris answered giving his brother a devilish grin that looked even more evil with those dark eyes peering at him.

"Fine, so what's your plan?" Wyatt asked giving up on understanding his brother's mind.

After Chris explained his theories to his brother Wyatt looked at him in complete shock and denial. "No, no, no, Chris! I won't do that."

"Wyatt, yes, yes you will," Chris answered.

"I can't!" Wyatt denied vehemently.

"Wyatt, you can. If you don't I'm destined to be this way forever and you know it," Chris reasoned.

* * *

"When do we get to say the spell," Phoebe called out from behind the furnace where she was hiding from the continuous blasts of energy that the Shadow possessed Zankou was sending at them.

Paige had orbed across the room and back again as Zankou tried to blast her and Piper was sending blasts back at the demon even if they barely even staggered him. She dove to the side as an energy blast came in her direction. "Whenever Wyatt gets back."

"What if Wyatt can't convince Chris to go back?" Paige asked orbing again as an energy blast shot through the spot she had just orbed from.

"He'll get it done. Have confidence in him, okay?" Piper called out blasting Zankou again.

Just as her words faded away Wyatt and Chris both orbed in together behind Zankou and Piper gave Wyatt a dirty look. He just shrugged.

Zankou turned at the sound smiling thinking it was his young protégé but frowned as he saw Wyatt with him. "I thought you were going to kill him."

Chris smiled deviously. "I was just about to do that," he said turning towards Wyatt. "It's been nice knowing you, bro," he held his hand up with a fireball on the palm but did not let it fly. Instead Wyatt's arm came up holding the item that none of them had noticed yet. Within seconds before anyone could object he plunged Excalibur into Chris' stomach wincing as he heard the grunt of air leave his brother's lungs.

He pulled the sword out, letting it drop to the floor as he grasped his brother who was sliding to the floor himself. Wyatt eased him down kneeling next to him still grasping him tightly in his grip. Chris made a choking pain-filled sound and breathed deeply. "God, that hurt more than I thought it would."

Piper had been standing frozen by her sons' actions but reality slipped in and she screamed out, "Chris!"

Wyatt pulled his eyes from those of his dying brother's and faced his mother. Though his eyes were awash with tears they were determined as he shook his head trying to keep her from rushing to them. He glanced across the room at Paige and motioned to his mother. Paige immediately orbed to Phoebe and then orbed them both next to Piper.

"Wyatt, damnit he's your brother. Heal him!" Piper screamed in distress as Paige and Phoebe each grabbed one of her arms. She was shocked to see Wyatt doing nothing but holding his brother as he died in his arms.

Wyatt shook his head looking back down to his brother's eyes, watching as the obsidian color faded from them to be replaced by the normally bright green he had grown to cherish in them during the little time he had been good.

Zankou watched the whole event out of dispassionate eyes but did take into consideration that his plans were now going up into smoke. "Heal him," his voice thundered through the room.

Wyatt wanted so desperately to do just that but as he inched his hand out to the wound Chris grasped it and shook his head. "Not yet," he whispered feeling the dark spirit within slowly disentangling itself from his soul.

Instead he reached out his other hand holding the potion vial and forced it into his brother's grasp. Wyatt saw the action and closed his eyes feeling pain grasping at his heart as he clasped the vial. Only seconds later Chris' eyes closed and a swarm of dark energy poured from his body and out into the air surrounding them. Wyatt looked up to the energy cloud and watched as it descended upon Zankou pressing into every pour of the demon's body.

With one hand Wyatt tossed the potion vial at the demon, while the other poised over his brother's wound desperately trying to heal him.

Zankou gained a look of pure utter joy as the spirit of the Source entered his body but just a moment later turned into a look of pain as the potion burst into flames eating away at his flesh. "The spell," Wyatt called out to the sisters as he placed his other hand on his brother and orbed them both away.

Piper was nearly unable to think about the spell as she stared in shock at the place her sons had just been, but Phoebe and Paige drew her attention back as they started saying the chant to vanquish the Nexus.

* * *

"Please, Chris! Come on, you can't die," Wyatt said through tears as he worked furiously to try to heal his little brother. He had orbed him back to magic school and onto the couch sitting across from where his mother and aunt's bodies were still unconscious.

"Come on, little brother. I can't do this without you," he pleaded, not exactly sure what he was referring to but guessing that it meant living period. "Could he live knowing he had murdered his only brother?" He didn't think so. Chris would still be in his time when he returned there but it would be the new Chris that was formed from changing time. Not the one he had come to love so dearly in this time. "Please, Chris! You can't leave me," he whispered in complete heartache seeing that there was no change.

"Dad, help!" he screamed at the top of his lungs doing the one thing he'd always been taught to do if he ever found himself in a situation he couldn't handle himself.

Bright white and blue orbs shown through the room and Leo appeared just a few feet away. His mouth gaped and a low moan left his lips as he saw a sight that reminded him too much of the day Gideon had tried to kill his son. "Chris, oh god no!" he called out moving forward and kneeling next to Wyatt adding his own healing touch to his son's.

They could both feel the healing at work but it was sluggish at best and reminded Leo too much of the effect Gideon's atheme had had on his son. "What did this, Wyatt?"

A strangled sound came from Wyatt's throat as he thought too late that it might be harder to heal such a wound. "Excalibur," he whispered out in pain.

Leo's eyes widened at that. "Wyatt?" he asked in confusion.

Just at that moment the sisters began to come around behind them and Piper was on her feet immediately and hovering over them. "How could you do that, Wyatt?" she asked in fear-invoked rage.

Leo realized what she meant and fear gripped him too. Had Wyatt tried to vanquish his own brother? How could he?

"I don't need this right now, Mom," Wyatt said tearfully as he stared again at his unmoving brother.

Leo nodded understanding how the stress was probably affecting his son's healing power. "Paige, come help us," he called out remembering that she had helped Wyatt heal Chris when Gideon had stabbed him.

Paige moved forward and did the same as she had done the last time, again hearing her nephew's advice on how to heal echoing through her head. After only seconds the tide seemed to turn and soon the wound began to knit back together and the blood disappeared all together.

To all of them the sweetest sound in the world was the gasp of life coming back into his lungs and after only seconds those brilliant green eyes opened and he stared up at his family that was surrounding him.

He sat up unsteadily and took in a deep sigh of relief feeling that the dark spirit of the Source was completely gone. It was almost as if he had been trapped under water for such a long time and finally after such a hard struggle he had made it to the surface and gasped in a refreshing lungful of pure clean air. He glanced to his mother and asked the only thing that still had him worried. "Zankou?"

Her eyes were still filled with tears of grief over what she had witnessed her oldest son do moments before but she was able to answer him anyway. "Gone, for good this time, I think."

Chris smiled and laid back on the couch again fully intent on resting for as long as they'd let him. When was the last time he really slept, he wondered. "Finally."

Leo saw his son's relief and ruffled his hair smiling broadly. "Get some rest, Chris. I think you earned it."

Wyatt had sat back on the floor near the head of the couch and was relieved just to watch his brother talking and breathing, and most of all not dieing.

But the sisters were not at all ready to just enjoy the moment. "Uh, excuse me, but what exactly convinced you that you should kill your brother instead of following our plan," Paige asked staring pointedly at her oldest nephew.

Wyatt flinched at the statement. "I didn't kill him. He's alive," he defended.

"See that doesn't get you out of trouble, Mister," Piper said in the calmest voice she could manage at the moment.

"Mom, it worked. He's alive and the Source and Zankou are gone," Wyatt came back. He looked to Chris hoping to get some sort of support from his brother. Chris glanced back at him with an impish grin. "Chris!" he said in exasperation seeing it.

Chris couldn't hold back his laughter and managed once again to sit up. He could see the incredulous looks his family was giving him and tears of mirth streamed from his eyes as he took in their faces.

"What exactly are you laughing at, Chris?" Phoebe asked in complete shock. His brother had tried to kill him and all he could do was laugh uncontrollably.

He glanced again at Wyatt and then reached up to dry his tears as he got the laughter under control. "Wyatt was only doing what I told him to."

"What?" Piper nearly squeaked in surprise.

"I knew that if the spirit of the Source thought it's host body was dying that it would move on to the nearest and strongest willing host. Which was Zankou and I convinced him to bless that vanquishing potion with his blood by saying it was a potion to bind the Shadow to him," he explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Oh, well is that all? And how the hell were we supposed to know you were doing all of that?" Piper seethed.

"I told Wyatt," he said shrugging. "Listen, I knew that it would take more than either the Nexus spell or the vanquishing potion to destroy Zankou, but with both… well it worked didn't it?"

"But your brother stabbed you!" Piper just could not get that vision out of her mind. She knew it would haunt her nightmares for a long time to come.

Chris looked at Wyatt and smiled happily. "Yes he did, and I'm proud of him for it." Wyatt had to grin back at that as they shared a knowing look.

Piper growled in frustration and walked away from both her sons thinking they had lost their minds.

Chris seeing the distress his mother was suffering stood and crossed the room to stand behind her. "Mom," he called out willing her to turn and look at him, which she reluctantly did. He reached out and took her hand. "What Wyatt did, he did to save me. Not little me. Not the new me that is forming in our new timeline but this me. If he had sent me back through time I wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't have any of my former memories at all." He saw that she was about to interrupt him but he stopped her by squeezing her hand. "Please, let me finish."

When he saw her comply he continued. "I know that was the original idea. But that was before I fully merged with my other self. We were all so worried that he'd overtake me and it would cloud my judgment, but look at me. I'm still that crazy, neurotic, demon hunting Witchlighter who traveled back through time to save his brother and drove you all nuts doing it. I'm the one who overtook him. And I don't want to lose what I am. Yeah, some of my memories are hard to deal with but they made me into what I am, and they made me love all of you more than life itself. I don't want to lose that. So for me the risk was worth it."

Piper thought for a moment about what he said and considered what her new son might have been like without this Chris to influence him. But she had to admit. "I don't want to lose you either, Chris."

Chris smiled seeing the acceptance in her eyes and pulled her into a hug.

Wyatt had stood and was lost in the image of his fully-grown and completely good brother hugging their mother. It was a sight he had wanted to see for so many years now and he felt a weight lift from his shoulders that had always been there. Leo reached over and wrapped his arm around his oldest son. "Feels good doesn't it, knowing you had it in you to save your brother all along."

Wyatt nodded never taking his eyes from his brother. He had exactly what he needed now to be the witch he was meant to be. "Everything is gonna be good now. This is the way it was supposed to be."

**The End for now**

* * *

_A/N: I do realize that some of you probably expected me to show them back in the future but that is going to be saved for the sequel, Third Existence, which is still in planning stages. This is the first Charmed fanfic that I ever started to write and it has been a long journey to get it to the end but I wish to thank all my readers who stayed with me for the ride even though I managed to get derailed a few times. I hope you enjoyed it._


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